What Happens to Coins Thrown in Fountains

Millions of dollars end up in fountains each year. Here’s where they end up. | Go to squarespace.co... to get a free trial and 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
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[@harryholden795]

I'm not sure whether to be mad or impressed at the Italian man who was LITERALLY raking in thousands of dollars a night. Great video as always Julian :D

[@Unraveled]

With a sword magnet, don't forget the sword magnet

[@JoelReid]

He was providing a public service by cleaning a fountain... does that make you feel better?

[@jpch11]

he’s not hurting anyone, so why should you care if he takes money people don’t want?

[@nami141]

I think it's because one of the reasons people toss the money in is that they're assuming it'll end up going to either a charity or towards maintaining the fountain, not so some random can jump in and claim it all for himself. That's the way I've always seen it, so seeing someone go in to take the money for their own personal use is pretty close to stealing the way I see it.

[@nolesy34]

Itsa me Mario!

[@xx_nobel744]

*Simple answer:* The entity count gets too high and they start slowly despawning with each new coin. This is just so that the area around the fountain doesn’t become synonymous with lag and in-game issues, such as a drop in frame rate ect …

[@Crinlask]

Oh, thanks for the informstion! I was wondering why my FPS was lowering when the chunks loaded there.

[@NaNaydo]

@@Crinlask ohhh I get it now

[@jajajajeke2739]

I see

[@officialWWM]

I can’t believe you actually researched this 🤔 I’m going to install a fountain in my front yard 😂

[@JulianOShea]

That’s me. Diving into the biggest issues of the day.

[@officialWWM]

@@JulianOShea you’re educating me on the things I didn’t even know I needed educating on :)

[@3rdalbum]

Let's hope the coins pay for the pool fencing and childproof gate you will also need.

[@officialWWM]

@@3rdalbum 😂😂 good point!

[@ArtemKonstantinovich]

The question is tho… is it gonna be legal for you to collect the coins from your own fountain?

[@rruthlessly]

I live in NZ and throwing coins in fountains is thing that mainly tourists do here. Sometimes there is a sign saying where the coins will be donated.

[@JulianOShea]

Ah nice - don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those signs.

[@Emily-the_funny_guys]

Isn't throwing coins into any fountain a tourist thing anywhere on earth?

[@callummoloney8709]

@@Emily-the_funny_guys yes but he is from new zealand and people from new zealand believe they are unique in every way

[@skullsaintdead]

@@callummoloney8709 Because they are unique in every way! Just checking: are you Australian, do you even have authority to cast such dispersions?!

[@callummoloney8709]

@@skullsaintdead from nz dawg

[@prodigalretrod]

2:08 You need a permit to deposit anything to a body of water, so all the people donating coins are just as liable to be arrested as the snorkellers who try to fish them out. I will make sure I apply for a permit next time.

[@JulianOShea]

Yes. Would be funny to see what they say…

[@megand175]

Exactly what I was thinking when I read that too

[@JasperJanssen]

Yeah, that doesn’t seem to say anything about needing a permit to *remove* anything.

[@timseguine2]

@@JasperJanssen Yeah, but you can't take anything out without putting yourself, part of yourself, or some object in to retrieve it.

[@xEqualsRandom]

@@timseguine2 what if you had a really strong magnet above the surface?

[@AdamsBrew78]

I probably gave a quarter or two to fountains as a kid, and always felt like a chump afterward. Making imaginary “Wishes” felt like superstitious baloney, even as a pre-teen. Then my young friends and I realized all those quarters could really make wishes come true. We wished we had enough quarters to play as much Street Fighter 2, Outrun, Simpsons, etc as our little hearts desired, and the local fountains made those wishes come true. A belated thank you to all the chumps in my town!

[@JSRMedia]

based

[@roberthayward9299]

The water wasn't actually a fountain but the Karma was good... It was about 1987 and my three children were all in primary school. We visited the Japanese gardens at Cowra NSW. There's an artificial stream cascading among the granite boulders and there are Japanese carp in the pools. For a small fee, the kiosk sold little bags of fish food. On their own initiative, my kids were collecting coins from the water and using them to buy fish food. It was a win for the fish, a win for my kids and I guess a win for the kiosk.

[@AKAThatKid]

Jumping back and forward between two different countries in one script is impressive videomaking. Love this channel for the Melbourne content - always makes me appreciate this city more and more.

[@inflationistransitory]

I came for this comment, brilliant Fore-thought Julian, excellent work as always

[@ParArdua]

Good old Senator John Faulkner, who was always ready to ask the questions no one else thought of, and then they said, "Oh yeah, why's that then?" He began his career before parliament as a teacher for children with intellectual disabilities, surely the best preparation for any Australian parliamentarian. UNICEF is a great charity, well done Mr Faulkner. Thanks for another great video, but was left wondering how much of the Trevi's pennies went to 'Ndrangheta?

[@merc7105]

It’s so nice to finish work, make a coffee, and see that Julian has something interesting to share. Thank you.

[@JulianOShea]

My pleasure!

[@mickeyBtsv]

2:12 the people didn't get arrested for stealing the coins, they got arrested for swimming in the fountain because they didn't have a permit... The part you highlighted says a permit is required to put anything on or into a body of water, i.e. it's actually against local law to throw the coins into the fountain. *Edit more text* so you haven't actually said it's illegal to take the coins out of a fountain in Victoria. E.g. a shallow depth fountain you can reach into and gather the coins

[@eliyohub]

My sad experience at the National Gallery is that most of the coins are coated in grime from being left in the water for months or years. The banks might still honour them, but most of them probably aren't going back into circulation.

[@Rumade]

They might be able to get scrap value for them!

[@pyr0bee]

Banks have to honor them, then the reserve bank will take back the damage coins and mint new ones to replace them

[@nothazzz]

It's really easy to clean fountain coins.

[@CourtneyCoulson]

There are few things I love more than discovering hidden lore in everyday phenomena.

[@Professorkek]

Great video as always. Glad that the money is usually going towards good causes.

[@skullsaintdead]

(Except in the US, where it mostly gets nicked).

[@EatMyShortsAU]

Yes a fat Italian Guy to spend at Monte Carlo casino.😂

[@samshepherd26]

When I was a kid used to take the coins that I could reach out of a public fountain. Once when I was doing it an angry lady told me that the coins get donated to a public children's hospital and that I shouldn't be taking them.

[@stevejones9062]

Australians states have a law " theft by finding " which has been used to prosecute people for not making the attempt to locate an owner of found goods.

[@angusmccarthy9507]

only Victoria and Queensland do according to the Theft By Finding Wikipedia page

[@skullsaintdead]

I worked at a supermarket few years ago, two regular customers (really lovely mum and her teen son) found an envelope of cash in the foyer, unlabelled, totalling $10,000. They immediately came up to us and asked if the supermarket had lost any cash. The selflessness! It wasn't ours, but the store manager came out and took their deets & thanked them, as we all did (and debated amongst ourselves if we would give it back; I prolly would tbh). Ended up belonging to a butchers shop just across the foyer, the lady who dropped it was stressed cause it was the weeks/days takings. She'd dropped it en-route to the bank (just outside). If no one claimed it, after 2 months, the mother/son would get it, but the butcher shop had asked nearby stores if they'd found anything, inc ours. I was also there when the mother/son came back to be given flowers & a gift card from our manager and the thanks and appreciation of the staff. That was such a sweet moment. I cherish it. Generally, if there's a means to avoid the perception of deception, use it. So, $50 in the middle of a deserted street, take it. Conversely, in 2011, guy got a $500 fine in WA for picking up $200 from Burswood Casino while sitting at a bar, because the CCTV showed him concealing the notes with his shoes. Deception means intent to steal = theft.

[@mfaizsyahmi]

Australia: has theft by finding law Pirates burying their treasures: My booty is safe! The Gov't is on my side!

[@dianaonaquest5135]

Interesting! But I wonder if the money left in the fountain can actually be considered "found" if no one has lost it, if losing implies someting involuntary or accidental. If no one has actually lost the money, then the taker could just be taking and not finding it.

[@anon4854]

There's a law against everything here. Australia is such a killjoy of a country to live in.

[@nickbooth9685]

So glad you researched this! It’s something I’ve always wondered

[@JulianOShea]

Cheers, Nick!

[@jordanhedington2421]

I’ve always thought about bringing a net to the ngv fountain for some extra cash

[@JulianOShea]

Ch-ching!

[@JasonInMelbourne]

Julian, with so many of your videos, it's like you reached into my mind and gabbed those random thoughts I have always wondered about but never researched. Another nice one, Mate.

[@sween64]

Are you in my head? I was thinking about this just last week. Specifically, I was wondering with the rise of digital banking and cashless payments (driven in part by COVID-19) has the number or value of coins thrown in to fountains dropped significantly? Also, I wildly exclaimed “yes” as soon as NGV came on screen. Thanks for the video as always.

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks mate! Please think of another good video idea.

[@Orion-ih5xl]

Imagine if there’s like a digital fountain to throw coins at

[@alexforagen5208]

This is really amazing! Good job Julian! Well researched and well edited!

[@samanthapederick5991]

Wonderful video! One of those things idly pondered since childhood finally answered, thanks Julian!

[@kerilithia]

I always though the money went to the upkeep, cleaning and repair of the fountains as well as the paving, grassed area or park or square that they were a part of.

[@forestgaming3993]

Great video Julian, super interesting! Thanks so much for making it!

[@elletee]

Oh dear. We’ve been to the Singapore fountain but only saw it from inside a building. Had no idea you could walk down there. And yay for good old fairy park.

[@_kikyu]

"Mother, I do sincerely believe that is within our financial interest in the installation of a water feature in the backyard as for the collection of funds that will be donated to charity... and used to bribe government officials that diving into fountains shouldn't be illegal so we could get more money"

[@cerenrockers]

I absolutely love yours videos and research, always puts a smile on my face to see a new upload.

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks for the kind comments. :)

[@noahnavarro1008]

Thanks for answering a question I hadn’t thought of in years

[@withinjapan2024]

I have decided on a new life direction after watching this video and wish to advise you all a new fountain will be installed out the front of my unit door where your all welcome to throw not just your coins but any notes you so wish :D

[@JulianOShea]

More money = more luck.

[@withinjapan2024]

@@JulianOShea exactly!

[@BreathingAir]

Julian's B-roll of everyone recognising him in Melbourne must be hours long by now.

[@yt.personal.identification]

Getting "Good Luck"...one of the world's oldest scams

[@Saucyakld]

Belongs to the council that built it . We have a nice fountain in Mission Bay Auckland New Zealand full of coins. Goes to charity!

[@muppet8095]

I love these dont stop

[@nomnomsquid]

When I was homeless in Melbourne I'd go to Crown and take coins if I found them in the indoor ones sigh

[@vectornine]

When I saw the title of the video I immediately thought of the NGV fountain as I saw the workers cleaning it out while it was drained a while ago. I always seem to see a person reaching in and grabbing a coin or two every time I go past there though.

[@UltraMagaFan]

If you throw a coin in the pineapple at Waterfront Park in Charleston, South Carolina they are normally taken by children. You are allowed to swim in it. It was built to be like a miniature water park. My parents used to take me there when I was little and I’d always find a few pennies or quarters.

[@bunnylebowski4465]

Charleston native here, shoutout to the pineapple fountain , swam in it a lot when i was little

[@BdManus]

Great video excellent subject, I've really never thought about it.

[@vacri54]

When I was a kid, my mate jumped into the NGV fountain to start collecting coins (no flippers or snorkel). Result was being chased off by a peeved NGV employee

[@TwistedCircuitMusic]

Fantastic video as always mate!

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks a lot!

[@jasongarufi8187]

Thanks for another great video Julian great research on finding out where the money goes. When did you go to Singapore?

[@senshi1951]

I Believe “Fontanna di Trevi” might be the fountain with the most amount of coins thrown into it. I used to live near it for a while, it was on one of the most popular squares in Rome called “Piazza Navona”. Literally 70% of the people who walk by throw coins in there since it’s a super popular attraction, looking down id see endless piles of coins I bet at least 500eur were thrown there every day. It’s the fountain shown in the video where the dude went into it to search for money every day.

[@Jack-kz4nb]

There’s a fountain clock tower in Hornsby, Sydney NSW. It has loads of cash.

[@espeon96]

I have always wondered about this every time I've walked past a fountain. I can sleep easy tonight

[@cocoacoolness]

In Japan they have fountains at some of the temples and shrines, you can throw money into the fountains and pray. The money is donated to the temple/shine.

[@MorganPhillipsPage]

Great content as usual, always have interesting topics :)

[@fbwsrd9910]

The fountain at the chatswood library in sydney has a sign that says the money goes to support local youth projects.

[@Buna2808]

I went to the fountain in rome, its beautiful and i’ve done it once and hopes i come back.

[@maniacstreet]

I went swimming with my mate one night in the NGV moat when I was young and dumb we were broke from a night out, paid for out taxi home and a stop at Maccas. Also mid winter and freezing. Ahh to be young again

[@nolesy34]

Should have paid for moat stopped at a taxi and ate some maccas... talk about living dangerously!

[@BootsMcGee3]

My uncle use to give me the coins from the Abilene Texas mall. Like 3 or 4 years in a row i would get giant mayo jars full of wishes for my birthday. I don't know what other places did with their coins, but Abilene mall gave them to their security guard.

[@theonlyenekoeneko]

I’ve been past the NGV one time when they had drained the moat and were scooping up all the coins!

[@theonlyenekoeneko]

Julian, did you find out how often they do it?

[@uvbe]

3:06 I did not expect to see my president throwing a coin in a fountain in this video 💀

[@djbassaus]

The answer to where does unclaimed money go is always the government's pockets.

[@RustyCandyAdventures]

I got one for you to look into. Paul hogan working on Sydney harbour Bridge helping a man to weld drums for a boat which he was driven into rocks by a ferry. The man ended up at Gippsland Lakes doing world's longest river boat run. Russell

[@mattheweburns]

Some fountains are very old and if they happen to have their original pipes for the features it is possible that throwing coins of different types of metal could cause more corrosion and damage them faster than they would naturally over time. I remember they cleaned the fountain in Forsyth Park before they filmed Forrest Gump, it did not take long for the luster to fade. What stinks is that counting was the only water feature they allowed to continue in Forsyth Park, I remember it was basically an urban waterpark with many features for children to enjoy. Now it’s just hot sidewalks full of crackheads and croaky wearing bros

[@qbmac2306]

I should install a fountain out the front of my house for a bit of extra revenue. Of course it would then be illegal for me to fish any money out of it. Bugger.

[@fathermahler1078]

Not if they don't catch you

[@ZephyrysBaum]

Make it a "Swimming pool"

[@JulianOShea]

Kafka-esque.

[@theonlyenekoeneko]

@@ZephyrysBaum loop hole!

[@elanorwoodhams7811]

If it's a swimming pool it may need to be fenced. Which would probably reduce the amount thrown in

[@YesterdaysMoose]

Answers a question I'd always had.

[@kingdomkeygirl]

Love your work Julian!

[@nolesy34]

Assange was a great its important to celebrate him

[@PBMS123]

2:10 That law seems to make it illegal to throw coins in, not take them out. So do you have a law that says its actually illegal to take them out? ?Or does it just come under theft? And is a fountain really a "body of water"?

[@hookedentertainment9089]

If anything that law says it's illegal to put something into the fountain, not taking it out. Unless the word deposit has suddenly changed meaning

[@nolesy34]

Well no because ive been known to deposit at night then pull out...

[@avocadochipped]

2:53 anyone else notice whats on the guy in the backgrounds shirt

[@Sem5626]

classic, they'll make sure the pennies at the bottom of a fountain won't get taken but they can't find out who stole my scooter

[@Pixiuchu]

Impressive that you go to these different places for an 8 minute video.

[@-mrgd1-384]

Went to the gallery *one in Melbourne* Always wondered how did the water feel?

[@AngusMurray]

But what about the $1.7m fountain? They must be throwing in jewellery! I'd be in there too man

[@bishop5758]

2:53 Anyone else notice the guys sweater walking in the back?

[@MrBelles104]

2:07 “Oops I stepped in a puddle now i’m committing a crime”.

[@seanotinderson6165]

I commented on a video of yours a while back asking you to make a video on this. I’m taking some credit, but thank you!

[@JulianOShea]

Hope you like it!

[@KellyOShea6366]

Thank you..❤️☘️

[@nolesy34]

🤘

[@janebaker4912]

Oh my god. It's fairy park! ✨✨✨

[@gavinmcmillan6222]

Likely cost more to remove them in most fountains.

[@noahprendergast8604]

I once was at The NGV and a worker taking out the money for the gallery said that a lot of the money isn’t usable after a point as it gets rusted and ruined as such banks wouldn’t accept them so they would just leave them in a pill or just in the fountain it’s self. This being the one out the bake of the gallery.

[@mattheweburns]

It could probably be considered trespassing. A friend of mine works at a large resort with a big fountain, the accounting department has to retrieve clean organize and deposit the change from the fountain on a regular basis otherwise it could cause problems for the fountain with oxidation and rust. It might be more palatable if they give that specific amount to a charity; however, it’s likely that the act of cleaning the coins out of the fountains cost more than the money that is actually retrieved. So really in the end folks should not be throwing coins into fountains. If you threw Tide pods into the fountain it would be a more visible problem, imagine if you put a well placed coin into any other water attraction such as aquariums, drinking fountains, etc. Besides for the lure of throwing coins into wells and fountains the act itself could be legally viewed as vandalism or malicious injury to property

[@kingjames4886]

the owner of the fountain has them collected when it's cleaned ofc? sometimes they leave some of the coins in there to encourage people to throw more coins in.

[@AlexanderVlasov]

Why are these people arrested? IANAL, by in my country (Czech Republic) willful renunciation of property rights by abandoning means the property can be acquired by any person (with the exception of arms, land and buildings; these become the state's property if abandoned by the owner), see the law 89/2012 Sb.

[@JulianOShea]

Good to know - thanks for sharing.

[@mdjcsmith]

Are you and John Safran from the same area? There is so much similarity in your delivery

[@minxythemerciless]

The actual law applied in Australia etc is "theft by discovery". That is if you find something of value and take it without attempting to return it to the owner, it's theft.

[@markbollinger1343]

I wonder if these amounts fall as the use of physical currency drops

[@JuddMan03]

very likely.

[@a.b.c5491]

When I went to parliment, they asked us not to throw coins in their fountain due to messing up with tax. (Australia)

[@shikishinobi]

Interesting to say the least. Never really thought about it til now.

[@danielboone8256]

The idea that possessing abandoned property is stealing is absolutely insane. Unless the people throwing the coins in are specifically wishing for the money to go to charity, it's an absolutely insane to arrest people for taking money out of fountains.

[@mse_marek]

I have question just why they don't make boxes for charity Infront of the well

[@ag_supersonic]

I love your content mate. Keep it up.

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, will do!

[@Daniel.Liddicoat]

I'd always assumed the coins were a round-about way of donating for the upkeep of the fountain

[@marbleous9170]

Only got one question. Why are you wearing a flannel in Singapore?

[@Yakend]

Hey! I went to primary school in anaki! LMAO What an obscure place LOOOL

[@arihantjain2432]

Can you please explain why there's a train coach almost standing vertically at the flinders st and spencer st junction?

[@nolesy34]

If it was standing horizontally it would take up more space

[@andreagriffiths3512]

It’s a piece of art, I think. It’s been there for years.

[@RussianPenguin]

2:52 That's a interesting shirt

[@MattTelevisionYT]

Great video!!

[@LotsOfS]

But is it taking the coins that is illegal, or the trampling of historic monuments and snorkeling in an unauthorized body of water?

[@ratflip7908]

My extra-long tongs and I will let you know

[@robie4569]

Good point.

[@tangytang]

2:50 nice shirt bro

[@itseunice-_-749]

I went to the Dubai fountain! It really is super cool

[@mchammer1809]

It should be used for upkeep of the fountain

[@Simba4321]

Is no one gonna talk about the shirt 2:51 😂😂

[@kethtemplar8989]

well, you COULD donate them straight to charity... but theres something so liberating about flicking a coin in...

[@CanadianBakin42O]

Me: Reads title Also Me: It makes a splash Also me again: saved myself 8 minutes Also me again for the last time just to edit this comment: Jumps to a random part about throwing 3 coins in a fountain in Rome, which sounded interesting and watched the video from the beginning.

[@nampomusic6378]

I'm interested in knowing who grants our wishes from the coins, is it NGV?

[@gormster]

Julian: “they don’t hold that record anymore; I’ll give you one guess as to where does.” Me: “is it Dubai?” Julia : “yes, of course it’s Dubai.”

[@Rumade]

The difference between dropping a coin in a fountain and giving directly to charity is the ritual. Humans love rituals and superstition, and this one is so old and ingrained in people around the world. Plus if I gave just a penny into a charity box I'd probably feel rather stingy, but a shiny penny in a fountain is enough to make my wish come true :)

[@Ceres4S2D1]

#HumanityMarksItsTerritory

[@FuddButter]

Do people have coins anymore? It's been over 12 months since I last even used physical money!

[@MMDigoana]

i remember when i was a kid i went to london for sightseeing alone. i thought i had enough money for food, but no. i saw some pounds in a fountain and bought a sandwich from a convenient store. i hope however those pounds belongs to have a boost in their good luck meter.