Man collects pennies for nearly 50 years before cashing them in for incredible amount

There are many unusual things that people can collect, ranging from the quirky to the downright bizarre.

Whether it's the classics like stamps or the more recent trends like vintage Pokemon Cards, humans have always liked gathering things together.

And while one man's collection might not be the weirdest out there, it's certainly a noteworthy one.

You might remember your gran having a big jar of pennies in the house, saved up over years and years.

Did you ever wonder just how much money was actually in that mountain of coins?

Well, Otha Anders does not have to wonder any longer after he cashed in the collection of pennies that he spent some 45 years putting together.

The 73-year-old from Louisiana amassed thousands of pennies over the years, explaining that he would always keep hold of them and never spend them when he was out.

Eventually, just one jug to keep them in was no longer enough and he had to start a second, and a third, and a fourth...

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In fact, in the end Otha ended up filling a whopping 15 jugs with pennies over the course of 45 years.

He told News Star: “I became convinced that spotting a lost or dropped penny was an additional God-given incentive reminding me to always be thankful.

“There have been days where I failed to pray and more often than not, a lost or dropped penny would show up to remind me.”

Explaining how he amassed so many pennies, he said: “I would never spend a penny. I would break a dollar before giving up a penny.”

Not only that, but students at the school where he taught would come and give him pennies.

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However he never accepted donations, always swapping out other coins for the pennies.

Otha finally decided to cash out his collection when he discovered that they would not be covered by his insurance.

So, he loaded up the 15 bottles of pennies onto his truck, and took them to the bank.

But just how many pennies did he manage to assemble over the years?

Well, those 15 jugs ended up containing more than half a million.

Now, before everyone gets too excited, remember this is not half a million dollars, it's half a million pennies.

Eventually, Otha assembled some 513,614 pennies.

This added up to a whopping $5,136.14. Not bad for just popping pennies in a jar when you get the chance!

But what did Otha spend the money on the end? He used it to pay off a dental bill.