# Do you pick up dropped coins? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 21, 2013, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903 "2013-01-21T14:42:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/41 "2013-01-21T23:43:35Z")
> [@JerrySTL](#): > > The best way to see the coins is while heading towards the sun. The light shines off of them. Of course it also shines off of washers, bottle tops, etc. I can spot them even at night now - car headlights reflect off them. I also have a collection of some several hundred buttons that I found too - I pick these up as well. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/42 "2013-01-22T00:28:04Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > \ > I like this - can I steal it? šŸ˜‰ You bet. I doubt it originated with me anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/43 "2013-01-22T00:42:53Z")
Iā€™ll pick up any coin except for a tails-side-up penny. Someone once told me that was bad luck. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/44 "2013-01-22T02:00:55Z")
The other day I dropped a quarter, and I was going to leave it, but my girlfriend picked it up. Then I dropped a nickel (not on purpose) and had to talk her out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/45 "2013-01-22T02:39:00Z")
I pick up all coins I see. Unless itā€™s in a pile of doggie doo. But I havenā€™t seen that. I figure passing it by is like telling the fates: I donā€™t need 25 cents. And the fates will reply: we will teach you what itā€™s like to _need_ that 25 centsā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/46 "2013-01-22T07:36:19Z")
Iā€™ve been picking up coins for a few decades. Just the pennies alone, I have a few hundred dollarsā€™ worth. Other coins just go into my pocket change and spent. I once found a 1914-D cent in a parking lot. In that condition, itā€™s worth quite a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/47 "2013-01-22T07:39:56Z")
Iā€™m an inveterate coin picker-upper, even the little 25- and 50-satang coins that are only good in the grocery store (or on some buses with fares in the half-baht, but I never take buses anymore). Giving them to the store clerks means they wonā€™t be giving any to me, plus it helps keep them stocked up. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/48 "2013-01-22T14:45:00Z")
No smaller than quarters. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/49 "2013-01-22T14:51:50Z")
All the time. Iā€™m cheap enough. A few years back my Dad- then in his late 80ā€™s was on a bus when a woman getting on the bus attempted to pay her fare with coins. A $1 coin was dropped and rolled off the stairs and under the bus- no time to look for it (this was not in the city I might add). So Dad waited and got off at the next stop and walked back to the previous stop to pick up the coin. It was still there. Except it was a rather dirty ten cent piece, not a $1 coin. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/50 "2013-01-22T15:20:53Z")
Itā€™s a sub-sub-sub hobby of mine. I pick them up when I walk, and I keep track of the total just for grins. Some months I find 2 cents. Other months Iā€™ll find $3.50 worth. Sunday I found a dollar bill. I used to cruise by a public basketball hoop, and would often coins there! I usually average about $25 per year. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/51 "2013-01-22T15:39:42Z")
Today I dropped a subway token (about the size of a dime, but costs $2.65 ā€“ bulk rate). You bet your ass I looked for it! Luckily someone else found it and gave it back to me. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/52 "2013-01-22T18:22:30Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Thatā€™s basically my opinion. There might be someone out there who gets a lot of joy from picking up a dime or a nickel, but thatā€™s not me. Yup, thatā€™s me šŸ˜‰ > [@nikonikosuru](#): > > Found a hundred dollar bill the tiniest crevice! Itā€™s hopes for getting another big break like that which keeps my eyes peeled. šŸ™‚ You wonder how on earth that happened - surely youā€™d notice your wallet had a missing $100? Or that the bill youā€™d just pulled out to pay with wasnā€™t in your hand anymore? > [@Seanette](#): > > Frequently, unless itā€™s in something icky I donā€™t want to touch or itā€™s in a spot I donā€™t think is terribly safe (such as in a traffic lane in a parking lot). I had to let one go today that was both of those - in the road, and stuck in tar ā˜¹ > [@Mangetout](#): > > I found 26p today. > > Yes - mostly Euro cents, but also an assortment of other interesting bits - some Jersey coins, an assortment of Chinese, Polish and Japanese coins, plus (oddly) a post-decimal half penny, and a pre-decimal threepenny bit. 10p for me - a 5, a 2, and three (rusty) 1s. Yeah, over the last two years Iā€™ve found some euro cents, and a canadian coin. And lots of annoying bits of cardboard from fireworks that are copper coin shaped, sized and coloured. > [@aceplace57](#): > > I pick up coins too. I picked up soda bottles for the deposit when I was a kid too. I like free money. Ah, for some reason I canā€™t bring myself to pick up the bottles for deposit. Iā€™ve picked them up and put them in the glass recycling bin to tidy the neighbourhood, but I donā€™t think I could bring myself to try and get the money for them! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/53 "2013-01-22T21:11:10Z")
In Australia there are no coins smaller than a 5 cent piece. My ex-wife anf I, when we had young kids, started picking them up as they are ā€œgood luck.ā€ Many years later I have continued the habit, telling myself Iā€™m in for a lucky day (without actually believing it) every time I pick one up. It is obviously the level at which people canā€™t be bothered to pick up a coin they drop because nearly every coin I see laying around is a 5. I probably find one or two a year but canā€™t recall when I last saw a larger denomination coin laying around. ---
**Author:** ![Floppy\_Joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3bc359/32.png) [@Floppy\_Joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floppy_Joe)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/54 "2013-01-22T21:16:55Z")
I follow the rules of Penny-omancy. You know the old saying, ā€œFind a penny, pick it up, and all the day youā€™ll have good luck.ā€ Well, thatā€™s the surface of Penny-omancy. The amount of ā€œgood luckā€ youā€™ll receive is in direct proportion to the denomination of the coin. A penny is good luck. A nickel is even more good luck, etc. But ONLY when it is heads-up. If it is tails-up, you will receive the same proportion of ā€œbad luckā€ if you pick it up. Therefore, if you see a coin tails-up, you must turn it over for another person to find. Yeah, itā€™s weird, but I still do it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/55 "2013-01-22T21:24:13Z")
Yes. Even pennies and foreign coins. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/56 "2013-01-22T21:27:34Z")
> [@Floppy\_Joe](#): > > I follow the rules of Penny-omancy. You know the old saying, ā€œFind a penny, pick it up, and all the day youā€™ll have good luck.ā€ Well, thatā€™s the surface of Penny-omancy. > > The amount of ā€œgood luckā€ youā€™ll receive is in direct proportion to the denomination of the coin. A penny is good luck. A nickel is even more good luck, etc. > But ONLY when it is heads-up. > If it is tails-up, you will receive the same proportion of ā€œbad luckā€ if you pick it up. > > Therefore, if you see a coin tails-up, you must turn it over for another person to find. > > Yeah, itā€™s weird, but I still do it. Some lady at the drive-through said this to me the other day. As a firm proponent of ā€œLucky Penniesā€ I do not recognize the ā€œtails-upā€ variation. Itā€™s not in the rhyme, so itā€™s just a lame add on. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/57 "2013-01-22T22:37:57Z")
I pick up most any change I come across, unless itā€™s a face-down pennyā€¦ because itā€™s bad luck. Iā€™m really not the superstitious type, except for this one thing. Face-up pennies are good luck so I pick them up of course. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/58 "2013-01-22T23:01:33Z")
All the time. Thatā€™s one of the goals when I walk across the quad between lunches - looking for dropped change. I usually find enough in a given month for a 6-pack or so! ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/59 "2013-01-23T10:35:54Z")
Thatā€™s a few people have mentioned the bad luck variation now - I have to say I agree with **Sateryn76** : Iā€™ve never heard it before, itā€™s not in the rhyme, Iā€™m picking them up regardless of heads up or down! (17p so far today, and itā€™s only half ten) šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903/60 "2013-01-23T11:07:09Z")
Nope. Donā€™t pick em up, donā€™t carry them. Every day I come home if I have coins in my pocket I got in change I tip them into different containers. One for the silver (5, 10, 20. 50 cent) and one for the gold ($1 and $2). Iā€™ll raid the gold ones if I go to the car wash which takes $2 coins but otherwise just fill the containers. Probably got $100 sitting in the gold one and $300 sitting in the silver one (best guess) When I run out of room Iā€™ll take them to the bank and cash them in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pick-up-dropped-coins/647903.md?page=4)