The Smarmy Carny

Coin collector Scott Travers has New Yorkers sifting through their change looking for hidden treasures.

A month ago, Travers intentionally used three valuable pennies for three separate purchases in Manhattan. One of the purchases was made at a pretzel stand in Times Square. Somewhere out there, these pennies may still be floating around: a 1908-S Indian Head cent, a 1914-D Lincoln cent, and a 1909-S VDB Lincoln cent. The last of these pennies may be worth about $1,000. That's quite the change for your 99¢ purchase.

Why would Travers spend the pennies like that? Simply put, he is an avid coin collector, author of ::amazon("0375721274", "The Coin Collector´s Survival Manual"):: and ::amazon("0609807463", "How to Make Money in Coins Right Now")::, and formerly the V.P. of the American Numismatic Association. This stunt will, no doubt, get many people interested in coin collecting that may never have found the hobby. And there you have the motive. It was Travers, in Times Square, with the penny.

Travers has tried similar stunts at least three times before. Though many have claimed to have found his coins in the past, Travers has never seen any of his coins turn up again.

Do you ever wonder where that paper money in your pocket has been, or where it will go next? Thanks to Where's George, you can find out (to a degree).

Perhaps you have seen a bill (of any denomination) with a "Where's George?" stamp on it. If you do, write down that denomination (amount), series (year), and serial number before you spend it. Then, enter that bill at Where's George and see where it has been!

How it works: Someone enters a bill into Where's George and then spends the money. Someone else finds the bill with the stamp/writing on it and also enters it into Where's George. This is called a "hit." The end. And, hopefully, the cycle of finding and entering the bill continues so that you can get a good idea of where the bill has traveled. I always try to put comments as to where I got my bill, as it makes the story of the bill more interesting.

I signed up back in 2001, but I haven't been consistently active with the site. I have entered a measley 19 bills with a hit rate of 5.26%. The "best" bill I have been involved with had three hits. I have seen bills with many more hits, though. There is one bill with 15 hits. Some people get very involved in this game. They own their own stamps, enter thousands of bills, discuss the best methods, etc. It's quite scary.

FYI: Candians can play Where's Willy? with their currency.

Click here for more pictures

Want to learn how to do this? Check out the basics of coin stacking.

Spot these leaves!

A coin defect in the Wisconsin 2004-D coins could make your 25¢ piece worth $100 and upward.

Normal Wisconsin quarters do not have any extra little leaves, but two variations (called "extra leaf down" and "extra leaf up," as seen in the picture to the right) are causing quite a stir. You can read up on further details at coinworld.com.

Of course, if you don't believe me, feel free to send any Wisconsin 2004-D coins my way for inspection. $100 bills are also accepted.