A penny for your thoughts

A southern Israeli father of two who donated 1800 shekels ($470) to a synagogue last Yom Kippur was repaid in spades last week with a whopping 18 million shekels ($4.7 million) for a winning “Lotto” lottery ticket, which cost him a grand total of 64 shekels ($16).

“I truly believe I won because I gave money to the synagogue on Yom Kippur,” said the man, who is in his 40s. “I contributed 1,800 shekels to the synagogue and HaShem gave me back 18 million shekels.”
Read full article: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/151535

And speaking about money, the following is an excerpt from an article about paying in pennies.

A University of Colorado student wanted to protest his high tuition. He paid his $1,400 tuition payment with 1,400 one-dollar bills. I guess that is somewhat understandable, but when you switch to pennies it gets even worse. Jason West from Utah was arrested after paying his medical bill with pennies. He disputed the bill that the clinic sent him for $25. He went in person to pay his bill and asked if they accepted cash payment. They answered that they did, and he promptly dumped 2,500 pennies on the counter. The clinic called the police and Jason was issued a summons for disorderly conduct. That ticket carries a penalty of up to $140. It was the way he dumped the pennies that got him fined.
A man was upset with the Fulton County tax office. He decided that he was going to pay his fee for renewing his license plates in pennies. Pennies come in boxes of $25 and weigh about 15 pounds. He found a bank willing to supply him with the requisite pennies, and they told him that he was the only person to make a withdrawal using a hand truck! The license fee was $167. He boxed up 15,000 pennies and included a check for the remaining $17. He mailed his pennies to the tax office, which was only a block away. The shipping charge came to $16. The office accepted the payment without comment. Did they legally have to accept the payment? Halachically, does someone have to accept payment in pennies?
Read full article: http://www.5tjt.com/local-news/12904-pay-with-pennies-call-the-coppers