Apple Penny

I purchased my new iMac computer in July of 2013.  Every day since then when I power up the computer it says ### days since your last back up.  When it reached 400 days, it was time to take action!

When we first bought the computer, we were advised to purchase a backup device.  We did that 16 months ago and it has been sitting in the box ever since.  Last night we followed the instructions which came with the device and tried to back up my computer.  After a frustrating hour, I gave up and booked a training session at the local Apple Store.

Wheat Penny Find

This morning Doc and I had our ‘class’ with Gilbert at the Apple Store.  He was great.  It only took 5 minutes to deal with the Back Up chore.  Then we had the remaining part of our hour to explore other topics.  I asked Gilbert to teach me effective ways of sending photos for Travel or Penny Tales.  We looked around us for something typical which I would photograph for my Tales.  Doc said, “What about the Penny on the Floor right next to you?”  I thought he was bluffing.  I had positioned my gear, moved my chair, unpacked the computer with accessories, and done several other things on that very spot.  I KNOW there was no penny there when we began the training session at that countertop.  And no one had come close to me in those 15 minutes.   There is no “Logical” way to explain how that Penny appeared there.  Unless ….. it was providing me the opportunity to share Penny Finding with  Gilbert and with YOU.  A reason to post one more Wonderful, Joy-filled Story!

Note:  The Penny is a 1945 wheat penny – minted in the same year Doc was!   LOL

Back in the U.S.A.

International Travel is full of adventure and new scenery.  But when it comes to Penny Finding, there’s no place like home.

We were on a Penny Finding streak of 439 Consecutive Days before we flew off to Australia.  Western Australia (WA) is pretty sparse as far as population.  There were zero Starbucks  (much to Doc’s dismay) and coin finds were rare.  Heck, we saw many more wallabies than wayward coins over there!

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In the 41 Days we were in Australia we found only 64 coins.  That is less than 2 coins per day; however, the total value was $14.55. That averages 35¢/day.  Pretty Nice!

Our first seven days of Coin Finding back in the U.S. yielded: 78 coins.  That is an average of 11 coins per day! Total value of $1.97.  (That is less than one of the Aussie $2 coins).  That averages 28¢/day.

Tuesday:  Arrived home from Australia approximately Noon after way too long on a plane.  That evening we headed to the grocery store.  Only one Penny. (We were pretty tired).  Warming up again.  Been a bit out of practice.

Wednesday: Grocery Store P, D

Thursday: Restaurant  P, D

Friday Starbucks, Gas Station, Dry Cleaner   P(4), N

Saturday:  Car Wash  P(50), N(3), D(7)

THIS was Penny Finding at its Finest!  I found a few coins, Doc found a few, then we went to wash them off and found a few more and a few more and a few more….gobble, gobble, gobble!

Sunday: Target, Grocery Store   P(4), D(2)

Monday: Target   P, N

It’s Great to be Home and back to the Penny Palace!

Aussie Coin Finds

Doc and I were forewarned by people who live in Australia (and who have visited the States and gone Penny Finding here) that it’s nearly impossible to find stray coins in Australia.  They were somewhat correct – and somewhat wrong!

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I challenged the Angels to provide coins Down Under in order to prove that Angels are present to help no matter where on Earth we are!

This would not be an easy challenge for several reasons:

• Australia discontinued making the one and two cent coins in1990
• One and Two cent pieces were withdrawn from circulation in 1992
• For the first three weeks of our trip, we would be in desolate regions of Western Australia



U.S. versus Aussie Coins

• We would be on Tour Buses with groups of people and thus unable to just go Penny Finding as we pleased
• Australian coins are much larger on the average than U.S. coins and therefore people are not as likely to drop them  (see comparison photo)
• The coins have greater values (5¢, 10¢, 20¢, 50¢, $1, $2) so people are willing to bend over for them 

I also challenged the Angels to provide an Australian  “Hit for the Cycle”  (a coin of each of the commonly used denominations).  In the U.S.  there are FOUR commonly used coins  (1¢, 5¢, 10¢ and 25¢) for a total worth of  41¢.  For an Australian HFC it would mean six coins with a total value of $3.85.

Post Office, Derby

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This is how the Angels Met the Challenge:

Note:  I don’t have many photos since I was not really anticipating most of these finds!

			5¢	10¢	20¢	50¢	$1	$2	other
Sat	8/30	McDonalds, Perth	1							0.05
Sun	8/31	Freemantle; Perth	1	1						0.15
Mon	9/1	Shopping; McD, Airport	4	1				1		2.30
Tue	9/2	Speed Boat @ Falls	1							0.05
Wed	9/3	Post Office; Grocery	3	1						0.25
Thu	9/4	Petrol; Shopping	2	1			1			1.20
		New Zealand 50¢							1
Fri	9/5	Mall; Airport	3	1						0.25
Sat	9/6	Port Hedland Phone	2							0.10
Tues	9/9	Bakery, Laundry Room	1				1			1.05
		Meerkat’s Gift coin from Cook Islands							@
		** Planted by Tour Mates 5¢, 10¢							**
Wed	9/10	Visitor’s Center; Foregone in Stromatoloites  *	1						*	0.05
Fri	9/19	Melb Airport, Train Station, Gas Station	4	1						0.30
Mon	9/22	Kerang	3	2	1		1			1.55
Tue	9/23	Kerang, Safeway	2				1			1.10
Wed	9/24	Grocery Store	1							0.05
Thu	9/25	Deborah Gold Mine				1				0.50
Fri	9/26	Grocery, Fish & Chip		2						0.20
Sat	9/27	Car Wash			1					0.20
Sun	9/28	Kirsty’s Gift – 2 Aussie Pennies!
Tue	9/30	McD, Swan Hill						1		2.00
Wed	10/1	Kerang Car Wash		3						0.30
Thu	10/2	McD, Gisborne	3	1	1					0.45
		Loughman Driveway 5 US (planted) pennies
Sat	10/4	Loughman Driveway 1 US (planted) penny
Sun	10/5	Craft Fair, Parking Lot	3							0.15
Mon	10/6	Zoo Vending	1					1		2.05
Tue	10/7	Airport, Security & Store *Finally a Penny!  (U.S.)	1	2					*1	0.25
		Total (legitimate) finds	37	16	3	1	4	3

The Angels met the Challenge of providing a 6-coin Hit for the Cycle and More!

Downtown Kerang

Car Wash Kerang

Although there were no 1 or 2 cents pieces found during the 41 days Down Under, there were 64 Australian coins found.  That is less than 2 coins per day; however, the total value was $14.55. That averages 35¢ per day!  That’s a higher average than in the States!

One New Zealand 50¢ piece was found in Broome. Plus there was a U.S. Penny in the Melbourne airport just as we were boarding the plane and heading home …..

Conclusion: Angels are Ever Present