Shock Over Buckets of Cash Hidden in Old Man's Home Who 'Never Used a Bank'

A photo showing just one of the "dozens" of buckets of change found hidden around a man's home has gone viral on Reddit.

The image was shared by the user Poohbear1025, who wrote the coins belonged to their grandfather, who died in February in his 90s, having "never used a bank."

The poster claims that the number of buckets found so far run into the double digits and include "at least three that are just penny buckets." You can see the photo here.

Though the idea of saving money outside of established financial institutions might appear outdated to some, figures compiled by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) found that, as recently as 2019, 5.4 percent of U.S. households were "unbanked."

That means no one in the household had a checking or savings account with either a bank or credit union. That 5.4 percent equates to around 7.1 million U.S. homes.

The grandfather in this viral Reddit post shows how some could happily live their life "unbanked." According to Poohbear1025, their grandfather was born in 1929 and "lived a simple life on a farm during the Depression and aftermath."

The Redditor wrote his grandfather "did not need a traditional credit card," and the only "credit" he needed was "the family tab at the grain store."

Poohbear1025 said the grandpa lived his whole life on "family properties that never had mortgages" and were simply "passed down and lived in," while other homes they owned "were rented out for cash-only renters."

Their grandfather also "never invested" a penny. "If he needed money something was just sold to pay for something else," the Redditor wrote.

The post has received 49,000 upvotes on Reddit, with users stunned at the grandfather's way of life.

Many wrote that Poohbear1025 should search every nook and cranny for coins. "Don't throw out the mattress too fast," Rapscallious1 wrote, while Endarkend commented: "And check the walls. My uncle found 160 million in pre euro currency (about 4 million USD worth) in my grandparents walls."

Mammoth-Access-1181 wrote that the original poster "should probably check each coin too. Could be some valuable coins in there."

ThreeMysticApes commented: "DON'T toss the coins into a coin counting machine without looking at the dates. Considering his age, there could be some pennies worth thousands of dollars to coin collectors in there."

Shadowgattier wrote: "Especially quarter's. If they're before 1965 They're made from silver," while the Redditor HylanderUS commented: "Looks like you're about to fix the national coin shortage, thank you!"

Newsweek has contacted Poohbear1025 for comment.