An anonymous donor gave the Saint Lawrence Shakespeare Festival in Prescott, Ontario, 20 bags of Cents. It is said the donor was a collector and Shakespeare fan.

As the economic value of the cent -- of any country -- continues to decline, merchants who handle large quantities of small denominations are going to find creative ways to dispose of such stashes of the unwanted coin. Donations to charities just moves the problem into their court.

But here is a suggestion for the Shakespeare Festival: melt the cents, use the resulting copper alloy to strike medals, bestow the medals to donors who donate real cash, and sell the remaining medals to collectors and the public.

Collectors would like the medals for the relic value of the melted cents.

Win-win-win-win.

Here's the news story from Canada: :Pennies pile up in Shakespeare office(www.recorder.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3382690)