Fake pennies worth $1,000 still hidden in Detroit
Kent Cushingberry found 10 pennies Friday in downtown Detroit, but he doesn’t consider it his lucky day.
The 44-year-old Romeo man had hopes of finding one of 10 fake pennies Ally Bank dropped in Detroit worth $1,000. The Detroit-based bank placed a total of 100 fake coins in 10 cities for its “Lucky Penny” promotion launched this week.
“I want to know where the pennies are at,” said Cushingberry who visited the Joe Louis statue in Cobo Center to search for a copper-colored token. “That’s what I want to know.”
Ally Bank says it hopes the promotion changes how Americans look at their money.
“The initiative seeks to demonstrate the importance of valuing every cent, while encouraging Americans to look for opportunities to save,” bank officials said in a release this week.
As of Friday afternoon, none of the 10 pennies in Detroit were redeemed, according to the bank’s Facebook page. Nationally 88 of the 100 pennies were claimed as of Friday afternoon. The other cities are: Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago; Austin, Texas; Denver; New York; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Miami and San Diego.
The coins, which feature the Ally logo on the front, can be redeemed before Dec. 31.
Cushingberry said he spent about an hour Friday searching in downtown Detroit including Hart Plaza and the “Monument to Joe Louis” fist statue on Jefferson Avenue. He found 10 pennies, none of the ones Ally Bank says it dropped in highly pedestrian areas.
“I was going to give my mom and my kids some money,” he said. “I need it to pop up very quickly.”
Dakota DeRiddler, 25, from Royal Oak, said she hasn’t looked for any pennies, but she likes the concept.
“I thought it was fun,” said DeRiddler, who was walking near Campus Martius Friday afternoon. “It gets people moving around ... It’s something anyone can participate in.”
Courtney Smith, of Woodhaven, said the promotion is a natural fit for her.
“I pick up change off the ground for my son,” she said. “Every night I come home and give him whatever I find. I think it’s awesome. It’s a great idea.”
cwilliams@detroitnews.com
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