Speeding ticket paid with 12,000 pennies

August 3, 2005 A Seattle man ticketed for speeding near Moorhead, Minnesota decided to pay up, but instead of paying by cheque or money notes, he paid in pennies at court. The judge reacted with this comment: "If the person is mad at the cop, why take it out on court administration?" said Clay County District Judge John Pearson. "They're punishing the wrong people.".

The man was made to wait for the pennies to be counted using a coin counting machine by a court clerk who left with the small garbage can of pennies for a bank. US$120 in notes, plus extra pennies in change, were paid back to the man, who was forced to wait in the courthouse until the coins were counted and he could pay the fine.

He was caught driving 70 mph in a 55 mph zone on March 5 in Moorhead, Minnesota.