The Penny Prayer Collector: The Inspiring True Story of Otha Anders, Gratitude, Faith & a Lifetime of Found Coins

 

 Do you ever pause to pick up a penny from the ground? Most people don’t. After all, what can a single copper coin really do? Pennies seem small, almost weightless in value—easy to overlook, easy to forget. But here’s the truth: pennies add up, not just in amount, but sometimes in meaning too. No one proves this better than Otha Anders, the Louisiana teacher who transformed a tiny coin into a symbol of faith, gratitude, and personal devotion.

Otha Anders never collected pennies because he wanted money. He didn’t do it to build wealth, impress anyone, or make headlines. His journey began humbly in the late 1960s when he was still a young educator teaching in Louisiana. What started as a simple habit—picking up stray pennies from the ground—soon evolved into a mindful ritual. Each time Otha found a penny, whether at a gas station, on a supermarket floor, in a parking lot, or near the sporting goods store after a long day of work, he would quietly pause and whisper a prayer of thanks. Over time, this became known as the “penny prayer tradition”—a deeply personal act between him and God.

Unlike most coin collectors, Otha never accepted a single penny as a gift. Not from friends. Not from neighbors. Not even from his own family. He believed the value wasn’t in the coin—it was in the moment of intentional gratitude and faith. The ritual mattered more than the currency. Even when the U.S. government offered collectors a trade-in incentive of $125 for every $100 worth of pennies, Otha declined without hesitation. His penny collecting hobby wasn’t financial—it was spiritual. To him, each found coin was a small reminder that blessings exist even in the smallest places.

His original goal was modest: fill five five-gallon water jugs with pennies. Many people start hobbies, but few stay committed long enough to watch them grow. Otha did. Once he filled the fifth jug, he didn’t stop. The routine had become a lifelong anchor—quietly folding itself into his daily life between school lessons, parenting responsibilities, bills, and the kind of exhaustion only those who give endlessly to life truly understand. Soon, his storage goal expanded to ten jugs… then fifteen… then more.

Decades later, when he finally decided to take his coins to the bank, he arrived at Origin Bank in Ruston, Louisiana, carrying fifteen massive five-gallon jugs filled entirely with found pennies. Employees were stunned—not annoyed, not impatient, just amazed. This wasn’t just a coin deposit. It was the physical weight of a lifetime of gratitude, faith, and persistence.

But the journey came with a surprising twist. Otha discovered his homeowner’s insurance policy didn’t cover his unusual coin collection. Suddenly, the pennies he’d been collecting since the late 1960s needed a safer home. And so, the jugs that once sat proudly in his house were transferred to the secure vaults of his trusted bank in Ruston.

When the final count was completed, his pennies weren’t just symbolic—they were substantial. His collection had grown into thousands of dollars, proving once again: small coins matter when collected with purpose.

Otha Anders’ story is more than a quirky hobby tale. It’s an inspiring reminder about:

• how picking up pennies can become a meaningful ritual

• how faith and gratitude can live in small gestures

• how dedication turns tiny moments into lifelong impact

• how coin collecting inspiration can transcend money

• how mindfulness and prayer can blend into everyday life

Most importantly, his journey shows that the value of something isn’t always measured in dollars—it can be measured in devotion, awareness, and gratitude.

That penny on the ground? It might look small.

But small things, collected with meaning… become big things over time.