ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Many drivers who drive through a toll booth throw quarters in the basket. However, some people throw in foreign coins, game tokens and even bits of metal.
Now, the Orange County Expressway Authority is trying to get rid of thousands of pounds of coins it can't use, and they plan to sell them.
An expert told WFTV that the amount of money that can be made depends on the type of coins thrown in to the tolls that were rejected all over Central Florida.
Almost 2,000 pounds of coins were collected by the Expressway Authority, some worth a pretty penny, and others not a dime.
"They're essentially worth nothing to us at this point," said Lindsay Hodges, Expressway Authority.
A lot of it isn't American money. Some of it is foreign change and even Chuck E. Cheese tokens.
All the coins were rejected by coin machines in the toll lanes or by the money counters at the toll plazas.
Banks won't accept them, so the plan is to auction off everything in the vault. The entire heap will be sold to the highest bidder on a per-pound basis.
"We'll advertise it. We'll invite the public in to inspect it. Then we'll ask for sealed bids," said Lindsay Hodges.
The authority couldn't give WFTV an estimate of how much its all worth. The last auction was in 2008, where 1,200 pounds went for more than $4,300.
George Callahan is a dealer who has bought the coins in the past and made a profit.
"It can be profitable if you get the right assortment. If not you can get upside down really quick," Callahan said.
He told WFTV the winning bidder would find a special bank that exchanges foreign coins, keep the ones worth collecting, and most likely sell the rest to a recycler.
The hard part though would be sorting through the metal.
"You're not talking about a couple of days, we're talking weeks. The labor is going to catch up to you," Callahan said.
The board has to okay the auction first, that will happen Wednesday.
An auction date and time still hasn't been scheduled.