Meet Gramps, The Anonymous Coin Shooting Local Man

On Tuesday, a man with sunglasses, a white beard, and a Mountain Dew T-shirt was at Mill Pond Park taking in a different kind of scenery. 

His eyes were glued to the ground as he panned his UFO-like metal detector along the shores of Mill Pond. Every few minutes, he would crouch and turn up the dirt with a tool in his back pocket, but would stand up empty handed. 

When I asked what this man's name was he smiled, hesitated, and said, "You can call me Gramps." 

Gramps hails from Sussex, but grew up in Falls. He's retired, and his profession was fitting given he is a coin shooting man named Gramps. 

"I did a little bit of everything," he said with a smile. 

One might expect a man who funds his entire laundromat bill with found quarters would want to keep a low profile. In fact, for the past decade he's been keeping inventory of everything he's found. That list includes roughly 1,500 quarters, 31 silver rings and a 200-year-old coin. 

“Some call it coin shooting. I call it metal detecting. Probably because you use a metal detector,” Gramps said. "My laundry just costs a buck, so I haven't paid for that in years,"

Gramps estimates he's found over $700 since he's started the hobby. He says baseball diamonds, parks, and other areas that kids often run around in are treasure troves. He found 50 quarters on a playground once, but averages about $3 to $4 every trip. 

"Kids are always losing their money," Gramps joked. "Sledding hills are also prime spots." 

Beyond the treasures, the simple fact of being outside offers a reprieve from the mundane for Gramps. In fact, there's a little Zen in the practice of coin shooting. 

"You get your exercise, and fresh air. Otherwise, I’d be sitting home flipping through channels on the television," Gramps said. "Another cool thing is that no place is ever the same. Every time you go somewhere it's always a little different." 

After our brief conversation, he continued on his stroll by Mill Pond. 

"Haven't found much here today," Gramps said. "So you work for an online paper? I don't go on the Internet much, but I'll tell my grandchildren to look this up."