People are only just realising what happens to coins in fountains

Tossing a coin into a fountain is an age-old tradition that almost everyone must have done at least once - but people are only just now realising what happens to the thousands of coins that are thrown into the water every year.

People toss coins for various reasons - luck, prayer, superstition or just plain fun. The Trevi Fountain in Rome, one of the city's most popular tourist attractions is said to bring in more than a million pounds annually just from coin tossing alone.

But what happens to all this money?

According to Mario Van Poppel, founder and owner of travel money specialists , multiple things.

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They said: “If you’re wondering what happens to all that cash, the answer is that these fountains are regularly mined for the coins and the money eventually goes towards charity or to the upkeep of the fountain.

“In the Trevi Fountain’s case, the money is donated to Roman Catholic charity Caritas, which uses it to fund projects such as soup kitchens, homeless shelters and a supermarket for those in need.

“In smaller fountains, it’s not uncommon for the money to just sit there for long periods, while in others it can be used towards maintaining the fountain to keep it functioning.”

Another popular fountain, the Bellagio lake in Las Vegas, USA, raked in around £8,500 one year and the money was donated to the homebuilding charity Habitat for Humanity.

Fountains in popular tourist attraction Disneyland in Florida is said to rake in up to £22,000 per year and it is donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

However, not all fountains should have coins thrown in, and visitors to the 9/11 memorial in New York are urged not to out of respect for the victims.