German bank employee spends 6 months hand-counting 1.2 million coins
What's the story
In a rare incident, a German bank worker finished counting about 1.2 million coins by hand last week. It took him six months to diligently complete the monumental task. The coins, stacked in hundreds of freezer bags and weighing 2.5 metric tons, were deposited in the Deutsche Bundesbank's Oldenburg branch in May, German public broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) reported. Read on to know more.
Details
A truck driver's fortune amassed over 30 years of travels
The coins, one and two penny denominations of the Deutschmark, were a truck driver's fortune collected over 30 years and bequeathed to his family before his death. Since several pennies were old, rusted and stuck together, counting them by machine wasn't viable. But the seemingly impossible task was no biggie for bank employee Wolfgang Kemereit, who says he "quite enjoys doing such things."
Little fortune
The coins were worth $9,400
It took Kemereit over six months to count all the coins. Taking about an hour to tally one bag's contents, he carried his coin calculation along with other work duties. In the end, all the coins were valued at $9,400 (Rs. 6,02,967). NDR recently tweeted the story, saying "Little things too can add up to a lot."
Information
Deutschmark was Germany's official currency until 2002
The Deutschmark was Germany's official currency until 2002, when the Euro was introduced. Since then it ceased to be a legal tender but can be indefinitely exchanged at any Bundesbank's branch without any fee. However, about 13 billion DM is still in circulation.