Whether it brings you luck, grants your wishes or simply costs you a penny, throwing coins into fountains certainly benefits someone. Eventually all that loose change is collected by the fountain’s owner, who may pocket it themselves, put it towards the upkeep of the fountain, or donate it to charity.
Up to £3,000 of loose change collected each day from Rome’s famous Trevi fountain goes towards running a supermarket for the city’s poor, while the Mall of America in Minnesota lets non-profit organisations apply for a cut of the £18,000 a year thrown into its various water features.
