Montréal collector Young New, 77, has taken his hobby to the streets with the intention of helping others.
Dedicating his retirement to finding and donating lost coins on the streets of his west-end neighbourhood Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, New has found hundreds of dollars over the last 12 years. He also launched a club – the Montreal Hainneville Collectors – who share in his mission of finding and donating coins to charity.
Initially, some of New’s findings were donated to his church while the remainder went to a Christmas fund administered by the Montréal Gazette newspaper; now, he donates his found coins directly to people living on the street.
“It’s not my money. I just found it on the street,” New told CBC News this February, adding his initiative keeps him active while also supporting the Canadian economy.
“It costs about 11.2 cents to make a nickel. Losing one nickel means 16.2 cents is gone.”
He said it was his father in Korea who taught him to “respect the penny.”