The eventual downfall of any collector
As many of you know, I am an advid penny collector... i count them, I sort them, and I hoard them in large quantities. Like most hobbies for collectors, the value is in the collecting and the personal gratification... and when that ends... liquidating the collection has costs... not gains. As is the case with my brothers comic books... he will lose money selling all of his collection, with stores only buying them for 5-10 cents on the dollar. When I go to sell my pennies, you can also expect the banks to want to charge me to take them back as well. As was the case for this guy:
http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=1982289&nav=EyAzOLAN
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A Granada Hills man is trying to get rid of his pennies -- all one million of them.
Ron England bet his brother 30 years ago that he could save a million pennies in exchange for a dinner in Paris.
And he did, eventually stacking up 20,000 rolls that fill 13 boxes in his garage.
England is moving and wants to cash in the 3.6 tons of pennies. But he's having a tough time finding someone who will take them without a price.
Coin collectors said to call a bank.
But his bank, Washington Mutual, is charging extra fees and won't take all the rolls at once. The best he's found is a branch that will take 200 rolls, or 100 dollars per week. That's 20 months of deposits.
England, however, refuses to pay. He says he'll haul all the pennies to his new home in Oregon if he has to.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)