About 800,000 Pennies

 I'm not a coin collector and I am not sure whether there would be some rare penny in a bunch of pennies worth $8,000.  The family who found the pennies at an uncle's estate in Los Angeles, said they contacted a local Wells Fargo bank and see if the bank would take them.  The family loaded two pick up trucks that looked like Low Riders after they spent a day clearing the pennies out of the basement of the uncle's home.  But the bank said there was no room in their vault for all the pennies.

The question the family had to answer is what to do with them.  They spent an hour looking at 300 pennies and finally gave up on finding that one rare coin.  So, the family decided that maybe a coin collector could find a tare penny or two and put the lot up for sale for $25,000.  Are 800,000 pennies worth the extra some $17,000 risk for a coin collector?  And how does one ship some 800,000 pennies?

I'm not sure the uncle did his family any favors with 800,000 pennies.  One single tobacco pipe can cost as much as $8,000 and can appreciate greatly if unsmoked.  It takes up very little room and can be quite an investment over time.  Some rare coins have sold for a $1M or more with the most expensive penny selling for $1.7M.  As to whether one rare penny in a hoard of some 800,000 pennies can be found is something only a numismatist would know.  

Odds are always a consideration for any bet.  What are the odds a million dollar coin is found in that pile of pennies?  I do not know.  In Vegas one can place bets on most anything.  But the odds will always favor the house.  And if several family members spent on hour looking at 300 coins, how much time would it take for one person or several individuals looking at 800,000 coins?

So, the question is whether the uncle did his family any favors by collecting pennies.  It is not too rare that a pipe collection exceeds $25,000 in value.  I guess an interesting question one might to know is why.  Why did this uncle hoard pennies?  Maybe it was a cruel hoax.  I have now read several articles about these pennies and I am sure mine isn't the only post for this blog to be written about them.  

And we might not have heard the last of it.  People will want to know what happened to all those pennies.  We may never know.  I'm more curious as to how those pennies will be transferred to a buyer.  Stay tuned.  More may yet to come.  Thank you for your time and Peace to each one of you.

Dave