Like a lot of people, I collect coins in a jar.
For about 7 years I have been ditching my coppers and spare change into a wine brewers
Demijohn - Coming home from work or the pub, all the change I'd end up would be put into into this jar. It also made a great door stop.
This weekend came the time to count it up and see how much was in the jar - My Christmas holiday is nearly here and I want a new lens for my Camera to take with me.
It took over an hour to empty it - The thing was sooo heavy! The coins had to be split into about four carrier bags and then into another thicker one which would hopefully hold them. The next issue I was faced with was a logistical one.... The bag was so heavy I nearly did my back in just trying to pick it up! Without a car, it was a long walk to the Sainsburys coin counting machine... So I walked there and picked up a trolley, not literary because that would be quite stupid but wanted to use one to move the bags. Once I had the trolley at my house I was a little nervous that the carrier bags wouldn't hold.... It was lucky for me that the recycling box was outside of my apartment and had just been emptied.
So here I am, walking back to Sainsburys with a trolley containing a recycling box fully of coins - God know what I must have looked like.... anyway.
Once inside I made a quick dash for the coin counting machine and get myself sorted, I had a fully feeling this was going to take some time..... The process was simple. Empty coins into a tray which feeds the machine. I guess I am also a little simple at times as I seemed to have a problem with this, for a reason which I cannot disclose (the flimsy carrier bag I was using ripped), I decided to pour half of the first bag on the floor!! In fact I think I was quite lucky, as its close to Christmas they cub scouts where in helping people back their bags - three of them instantly ran to help as they and half the people at the checkouts heard my money hitting the floor!
The cub scouts helped me with getting the cash up off the floor and in turn each got £3 for their jar - judging by the smiles on their faces this was more than they had got all morning. I wonder if it went in their pockets or the collection box!
After about 25 minutes I started to get board - After 35 minutes my hands where filthy and finally after about 45 minutes I was done.
Was kind of an odd feeling - Like the inverse jackpot! I stood back and look at the machine, chugging away counting the cash I had been pouring into it, to my shock money was also coming out of it - Its seems that so some reason it didn't like a pocket or two full of coins!
But to be honest this was not what shocked me the most, it was the amount of money I had pumped into this thing - It was over £600. I had always wondered how much was in the jar and had never imagined that it would be this much - Maybe £300 or £400 but £661 is much more than I thought.
The lady behind the checkout was also taken a little back and had to call for help, she didn't have enough cash in her till to pay it all out!
Once I had this cash, it called for a rethink of the lens procurement strategy - the night previous I had been staying with friends and they had just purchased one of the new
EVIL cameras from Sony, I had seen these on the web and was really keep to get my hands on one. EVIL is a hybrid between a DSLR and a Compact Digital (with a DSLR sized senser). I was always a little concerned with taking my DSLR with me for the Christmas break - I've always found it a little bulky....
So now I am the happy owner of a NEX-5 with a 18-55mm & 16mm pancake lense :-)
Lets hope it performs and I get some awesome photos - Watch this space over the next few weeks.
This all goes to show - every penny makes a pound!
Posted from
Newbury, United Kingdom
