Sunday, September 30, 2007

Today I found 6 cents . . . 1 nickel & 1 penny.

Both the nickel and penny were found at JR’s Car Wash, the car wash next to my apartment complex. I stopped there on the way home from the Astros game, the last Astros game of the season.

___________________

September Monthly Report:

This month I found 180 pennies, 13 nickels, 20 dimes, and 33 quarters. Change was found in two states, Texas and Indiana.

Monthly Total: $12.70
Change Cycle Days: 3
Dollar Days: 1
Monthly High: $4.22(September 1st)
Monthly Low: 1 cent (Multiple Times)
Daily Average: 42.333ish cents

Totals for the day: 6 cents
Race Totals: $611.56

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Today I found 50 cents . . . both quarters.

One quarter was found in the coin return slot of a soda machine by Minute Maid Park and the other quarter was found on the ground by some parking meters, also in the downtown area.

Totals for the day: 50 cents
Race Totals: $611.50

Friday, September 28, 2007

Today I found 23 cents . . . 1 nickel, 1 dime, and 8 pennies.

All the change was found in the 11th hour at JR’s Car Wash, the car wash next to my apartment complex.

In baseball related news my newly adopted Philadelphia Phillies have taken a one game lead in the NL Central. The NY Mets are on the verge of the greatest choke job since, ironically enough, the 1964 Phillies.

I had the chance to chat with Ed Wade, the Astros new GM, this evening. Given the opportunity I asked him a question that had been on my mind for a few days. I asked Mr. Wade who he was pulling for in the NL Central, the Mets or the Phillies. I prefaced the question by saying that it would be tough for me to root for a team that fired me, yet at the same time it would be difficult to root for a hated rival. Mr. Wade gave a solid answer . . . he said he was rooting for the Phillies since he put the team together, but was also pulling for the Padres since he was working for them just before the Astros hired him.

Before leaving Mr. Wade was kind enough to sign a baseball for me:


Hopefully Brian is right about our new GM, as if he is not the Astros won’t have to worry about the post-season for a good long time.

Totals for the day: 23 cents
Race Totals: $611.00

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Today I found 48 cents . . . 1 nickel, 1 dime, 1 quarter, and 8 pennies (The Fantastic Change Cycle).

The change finding day started out right as some co-workers and I stopped at a Shell gas station after lunch. Walking in I quickly spotted three pennies on the floor. I also found a quarter stuck in a candy display case by the cash register and a dime stuck between a cigarette lighter display and a piece of glass separating the cash register clerk from the customers.

Later in the day I checked in at my local post office and found seven cents (one nickel & two pennies) in the coin return slot of a stamp machine. The final three cents were found at the car wash next to the post office.

Totals for the day: 48 cents
Race Totals: $610.77

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Today I found 27 cents . . . 1 quarter & 2 pennies.

Both pennies were found in the coin return slot of a stamp machine at my local post office. The quarter was found in the parking lot of my apartment complex. I actually saw a girl walking to her car toss the quarter into the middle of the parking lot. I wasn’t in the position to get the quarter right away, but I did check back about an hour later and the quarter was still there.

Totals for the day: 27 cents
Race Totals: $610.29

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Today I found 2 cents . . . both pennies.

Both were found in a parking lot of a Mexican restaurant where some co-workers and I stopped for lunch.

Totals for the day: 2 cents
Race Totals: $610.02

Monday, September 24, 2007

Today I found 34 cents . . . 3 dimes and 4 pennies.

The first penny came to me in the parking lot of a Boston Market where I stopped for lunch. I like Boston Market, but probably hadn’t eaten there in over a year.

The final 33 cents (three dimes & three pennies) were found at a non-name car wash that is located in semi-close proximity to my local post office. Said car wash should not be confused with the car wash next to the post office, but it did produce results today despite the general lack of change that I find when I usually stop at it.

Totals for the day: 34 cent
Race Totals: $610.00

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Today I found 2 cents . . . both pennies.

Both were found while walking from a parking lot to the Texans game. They were about 100 feet apart, but thanks to my keen sense of coin detection I was able to ferret them both out and add them to my daily totals.

Totals for the day: 2 cent
Race Totals: $609.66

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Today I found 1 cent . . . a penny.

It was in the most random of places, stuck in the base of a drink machine at McDonalds (the part of the machine that has a tray to collect spillage and ice). No idea how it got there, but it is now mine.

Totals for the day: 1 cent
Race Totals: $609.64

Friday, September 21, 2007

Today I found 49 cents . . . 1 nickel, 3 dimes, and 14 pennies.

The first find of the day was recorded at Randals, a local grocery store. There I found five cents (all pennies) in and around a change counting machine. One penny was in the coin return slot and the remaining four pennies were on the ground in close proximity to the machine.

The final 44 cents of the day (one nickel, three dimes, and nine pennies) was all found at the car wash next to the post office. I was there to mail a few eBay items, and to mail a package to Bailey. All the change was scattered about on the ground by banks of vacuum cleaners.

The other day the Astros hired Ed Wade as the team’s new General Manager. That is going to prove to be a bad hire. Ed was run out of Philadelphia after years of failure, so I’m not sure why the Astros think he was the right man for the job.

Totals for the day: 49 cents
Race Totals: $609.63

Thursday, September 20. 2007

Today I found 5 cents . . . all pennies.

For the second day in a row all of my change was found at Sonic.

Totals for the day: 5 cents
Race Totals: $609.14

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Today I found 2 cents . . . both pennies.

Both were found at a Sonic where I stopped for lunch.

Totals for the day: 2 cents
Race Totals: $609.09

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Today I found 61 cents . . . 1 dime, 2 quarters, and 1 penny.

The first penny was found on the floor of a gas station in Baytown, TX. I was in Baytown this morning for work and stopped at the gas station before an appointment to purchase a drink. Ended up going with the Arizona Iced Tea, which was only 99 cents and a lot of drink for the money.

This evening at the Astros game I spotted a quarter in an otherwise unoccupied row. However, just as I was about to retrieve said quarter four people came along and sat in the row. Not to be discouraged I went over after the game (some three hours later) and the quarter was still there. I also found a dime under a seat, but in a different section. Leaving the game I spotted and retrieved a quarter from the coin return slot of a soda machine.

Totals for the day: 61 cents
Race Totals: $609.07

Monday, September 17, 2007

Today I found 31 cents . . . 1 nickel, 1 dime, & 16 pennies. One of the pennies was a 1946D Wheat Penny. I also found a random token, which sadly will not count toward the daily totals.

At lunch this afternoon my friend Ricky and I were walking through Deerbrook Mall to the food court and I found a penny on the floor. Later in the day I found another penny on the sidewalk outside Minute Maid Ballpark in downtown Houston, TX.

Following the Astros loss, a loss that mathematically eliminates the Astros from winning the division, I stopped at the Kwick Kar Wash. That is where I found the final 29 cents (one nickel, one dime, and 14 pennies) of the day. All the change was scattered about the ground by vacuum cleaners and in car wash bays.

One of the pennies that was found was a 1946D Wheat Penny. I was walking around and had just thought that I had not found a Wheat Penny in quite a while. Low and behold the next penny that I picked up was the Wheat Penny.

The random token that was found, which reads “No Cash Value,” was also found at the Kwick Kar Wash. Although it will not count toward the daily totals it has already been deposited into my “Not Change Cup,” keeper of such found items.

Totals for the day: 31 cents
Race Totals: $608.46

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Today I found 39 cents . . . 1 dime, 1 quarter & 4 pennies.

This morning I found a penny in the grass by a sidewalk leading to Minute Maid Ballpark. Following the game (a 15-3 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Pirates) I found a quarter in the stands of the ballpark as I was looking for some ticket stubs.

In the evening I picked up another penny. It was on a bench at Whataburger, a local Texas fast food establishment. The final 12 cents (one dime & two pennies) was found at a small gas station near my post office. I stopped at the gas station after dropping off a Texans parking permit, which had just sold on eBay, at the aforementioned post office.

Totals for the day: 39 cents
Race Totals: $608.15

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Today I found 37 cents . . . 1 quarter & 12 pennies.

The first two pennies were found in the vicinity of Minute Maid Ballpark. I was walking from the ballpark to a nearby gas station to get a drink and found both pennies sitting on a sidewalk.

The remaining change, 35 cents (one quarter & 10 pennies), was found at JR’s Car Wash, the car wash next to my apartment complex. The quarter was sitting on the ground of a car wash station and the pennies were scattered about on the ground by a group of rear vacuum cleaners.

Totals for the day: 37 cents
Race Totals: $607.76

Friday, September 14, 2007

Today I found 16 cents . . . all pennies.

All the change was found at JR’s Car Wash, the car wash next to my apartment complex. I stopped there on the way home from the Astros game, a lackluster loss to the lackluster Pittsburgh Pirates.

Despite the bad baseball it was nevertheless an exciting day. After the game there was a professional eating contest behind homeplate. It featured none other than Joey Chesnut, who is the world record holder for multiple foods, including hotdogs.

What, you ask was on the plate this evening? It was none other than kolaches. For those of you not in the know a kolache is a Czech food that consists of a pastry roll that is filled with some type of meat or fruit. In this case it was sausage kolaches that were consumed. Below is a picture of one if you are still having trouble visualizing this:


Anyhow, our good friend Joey Chesnut won the event, downing 56 kolaches in eight minutes (a new world record, thank you very much!). Here is a picture of the wonderful event. If you look closely you can see the water, that they dipped the kolaches in, dripping from their mouths:


Finally, Joey was kind enough to sign a baseball for me prior to the eating contest:


It’s nice to know that such a big star in the professional eating circuit still has time for the little people!

Totals for the day: 16 cents
Race Totals: $607.39

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Today I found 86 cents . . . 1 nickel, 1 dime, 2 quarter, and 21 pennies (The Fantastic Change Cycle).

The first penny was found in the parking lot of my apartment complex. The remaining change was found at the car wash next to the post office.

Totals for the day: 86 cents
Race Totals: $607.23

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Today I found 10 cents . . . 1 dime.

It was found on the ground at Food Lion, a local grocery store in Maryland.

Totals for the day: 10 cents
Race Totals: $606.37

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Today I found 36 cents . . . 1 dime, 1 quarter, and 1 penny. This is the second day in a row (and the first time since June 22-23) that I found the exact totals, and the exact amounts of change, as the previous day.

The first 35 cents (one dime & one quarter) were found at Kroger, a local grocery store. The dime was under a change counting machine and the quarter was sitting on the floor of the store by an exit door. The penny was found on the ground at an airport, where I hopped a plane for a brief trip to Baltimore.

Totals for the day: 36 cents
Race Totals: $606.27

Monday, September 10, 2007

Today I found 36 cents . . . 1 dime, 1 quarter, and 1 penny. The dime was a Mercury Dime, the first such dime I have found during this change race.

In the evening I headed to Kroger, a local grocery store, to recycle some plastics. At Kroger I found 11 cents (one dime & one penny). The penny was outside the store sitting by some bags of mulch and the dime was under a change counting machine.

The dime is actually a 1940D Mercury dime. I have found only a handful of silver dimes during my change hunts, but this is the first time that I have found a sliver Mercury Dime. I was very excited.

The final 25 cents (one quarter) was found in the coin return slot of a stamp machine at the post office. That stamp machine has been doing some serious payouts as of late and I really hope that it continues.

Totals for the day: 36 cents
Race Totals: $605.91

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Today I found 27 cents . . . 1 quarter & 2 pennies.

It was Opening Day in the NFL and as a proud season ticket holder for the Houston Texans I was happy to be heading to the game (despite the fact that my real team is the Washington Redskins and the Texans have been a joke of a franchise for the first five years). Walking to the game I spotted and retrieved 26 cents (one quarter & one penny) from the parking lot of a McDonalds that I was cutting through.

Walking back from the game I found my final penny of the day in the parking lot of a Sam’s Club. I park there prior to the game and it makes for some excellent (and free) game day parking.

Totals for the day: 27 cents
Race Totals: $605.55

Saturday, Septmeber 8, 2007

Today I found 53 cents . . . 2 quarters & 3 pennies.

The three pennies were found at JR’s Car Wash, the car wash next to my apartment complex. The remaining 50 cents (two quarters) was found in the change return slot of a stamp machine at the post office. That change return slot has been quite lucrative as of late and I hope it keeps up. I almost didn’t check it because there was a man using a metering machine right next to the stamp machine when I walked it. However, I did check it and I’m 50 cents richer as a result.

Totals for the day: 53 cents
Race Totals: $605.28

Friday, September 7, 2007

Today I found 7 cents . . . 1 nickel & 2 pennies.

All seven cents was found in the coin return slot of a stamp machine at the post office. I probably received good change karma since I held the door for a lady who had a large box of packages to mail.

Totals for the day: 7 cents
Race Totals: $604.75

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Today I found 35 cents . . . 3 nickels, 1 dime & 10 pennies. I also found a coin from Venezuela which sadly will not count toward the daily totals.

This evening at the post office I recorded my first find, a nickel that I found in the coin return slot of a stamp machine. Later, after having dinner with Becca, I stopped at JR’s Car Wash, the car wash next to my apartment complex, and found the remaining 30 cents (two nickels, one dime, and 10 pennies).

The coin from Venezuela, which is about the size of a quarter, was found atop a ledge in a car wash station at JR’s Car Wash. Although the coin will not count toward the daily totals it has already been deposited in my “Not Change Cup,” keeper of such found items.

Totals for the day: 35 cents
Race Totals: $604.68

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Today I found 68 cents . . . 3 nickels, 1 dime, 1 quarter, and 18 pennies (The Grand Change Cycle). I also found a token from Chuck E. Cheese, which sadly will not count toward the daily totals.

The vast majority of the day’s change was found at the car wash next to the post office. I also recorded finds in the parking lot of a Wells Fargo bank and at a Wal-Mart. I would be remiss if I did not mention that the quarter that I found was a 2007 Idaho model, the first such Idaho coin I have seen.

The Chuck E. Cheese token, which sadly will not count toward the daily totals, was found at the car wash next to the post office. Although the token has no cash value it has already been deposited into my “Not Change Cup,” keeper of such found items.

Totals for the day: 68 cents
Race Totals: $604.33

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Today I found 15 cents . . . 1 dime & 5 pennies.

Three pennies were found by a cash register at a Chevron gas station where I stopped to pick up a drink. Lone pennies were found at the post office and at Randalls, a local grocery store. The dime was also found at Randalls, under a change counting machine.

Totals for the day: 15 cents
Race Totals: $603.65

Monday, September 3, 2007

Today I found 39 cents . . . 1 dime, 1 quarter, and 4 pennies.

The first three pennies of the day were found at the post office. I found two of them under an automated stamp machine and one was on the floor by a drop box. Later in the day I found another penny on the floor of the Potato Patch, a restaurant where Becca and I had lunch.

After lunch Becca and I spent a rainy day hitting a few local stores. When we returned to my car I made perhaps the strangest find of this change race, a quarter sitting atop my car. I am positive that the quarter was not there when I left the car, and I have no idea how it made it onto the roof of my car, but it did and it will count toward the daily totals.

In the evening I went to the convenient store across the street to purchase a drink and I found a dime on the floor by the refrigerators.

Totals for the day: 39 cents
Race Totals: $603.50

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Today I found 3 cents . . . all pennies.

Considering that I found over $4 yesterday and surpassed $600 in found change almost anything would be a letdown today. Still, three cents is three cents, so I’m not complaining. All the pennies were found at JR’s Car Wash, the car wash next to my apartment complex. I stopped there on the way home from a housewarming party that a friend threw this afternoon.

Totals for the day: 3 cents
Race Totals: $603.11

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Today I found $4.22 . . . 1 dime, 16 quarters, and 12 pennies. With the finds for the day I have surpassed $600 in found change!

First and foremost, I must apologize for not keeping the blog updated these past few weeks. It was really busy, but things will hopefully slow down and return to normal in the near future.

Anyhow, this morning I found a penny at Kroger, a local grocery store. I was at Kroger to recycle some plastic bags and I found the penny on the ground near a change counting machine.

In the evening I had dinner with Becca and we had to go to the post office afterwords. Becca suggested that we stop at the car wash next to the post office and I’m glad that we did. There I found $4.21 (one dime, 16 quarters, and 12 pennies). That is not a misprint. I did indeed find 16 quarters, and a beautiful find it was. All 16 quarters were in a partially emptied quarter roll that was sitting at the base of a vacuum cleaner. I’m sure that someone had used that roll of quarters to feed the aforementioned vacuum when cleaning their car.

I have always thought about what a great find a roll of quarters would make. I’m actually a bit surprised that I haven’t found more of them considering the number of car washes that I frequent, but I’m pleased to say that now I have found one.

Totals for the day: $4.22
Race Totals: $603.08