digital museum of collecting

found objects: exhibit 1

altered pennies

If you live or work in New York City, watch out for these when looking for pocket change. Colorful, illustrated pennies discovered after a day of shopping at regular stores in the city. Naturally, we will be passing them on to others over time. It will only be a matter of days before Kevin Bacon gets one… Also spotted in past months - rubber stamps on paper money. These fantastic urban artifacts make use of the entire city as a gallery, and everyday people as temporary curators.

An anonymous artist sent us his story in response to this exhibit; admitting that the altered currency can only be spent at places where the storekeeper can be trusted with the responsibility of putting these creations into circulation. Once the owner figures out that he is operating a clearing house for the artwork, the artist has to move on and find another distributor.

 

penny jars

That's the fate of most pennies - empty your pockets into the penny jar at the end of the day. Or maybe loose ten pounds of coins accumulating in your purse for months. Every penny collection is different: the 5 gallon water bottle, an old tin can of "Cafe Bustello". One guy in Brooklyn uses an enormous flower pot, a girl in Manhattan has a separate, covered dish just for the new State quarters.