The criminal history of Clint Steele and his sister Bonny Steele began when they were children, stealing change from their parents. Later, as teenagers, they rummaged through their father’s old coin collection and stole old “wheat” pennies. They stole all kinds of coins in and out of circulation, but as adults, they stole humble pennies from banks.

They stole a big truck from Brinks because they were on the run from stealing all the pennies from 35 local Nashville banks. They transported more than $10,000 in pennies from Nashville, Tennessee to Hilton Head, South Carolina. In Tennessee, they weren’t Public Enemies #1 and #2, because they only stole the smallest denomination coins from banks, but they had an all-time record for pennies stolen.

His criminal life in Hilton Head began immediately. When they arrived in Hilton Head, they forced a gas station attendant at gunpoint to give them “every cent” in change. It was no surprise that his first heist in Hilton Head began on March 30, “National Penny Day.” But later, they got careless by having too many cashiers give them pennies only in return. Within a week, they were caught by bewildered police who couldn’t understand the brothers’ obsession with pennies, but managed to get out for good behavior.

It was at this time that they began robbing banks in Hilton Head. However, they quickly became easy to spot, because they ran onto the benches wearing masks resembling Abraham Lincoln along with tall black hats on their heads. If that wasn’t verification enough, Clint and Bonny’s business card became “A Penny For Your Thoughts” as they pointed a gun at the cashier’s head.

Clint and Bonny were the butt of jokes among the Hilton Head police, such as “They love their zinc pennies but they hate their copper pennies” or “They make a lot of pennies (with sense).” They may not have liked the police, but they never joked about the rumor that they melted down their copper pennies to make copper bullets. That was another one of his crimes, since melting copper pennies into bullion was a federal crime. They were said to have copper fillings in their teeth. The duo then edited their “welcome” call to bank tellers, “Penny for your thoughts or I’ll fill you with copper!”

The police managed to catch them during a high-speed chase that covered all the streets of Hilton Head. The two tried to escape on one of the bridges that connected the island to the mainland, but the police had already stopped them on the bridge. Clint and Bonny were forced out of their car and taken to jail.

A month later, the brother and sister were brought to court. Clint spoke up for Bonny when she was asked how they pleaded, “Guilty, your honor.” His statement did not surprise the judge. What made him curious was why this brother and sister only stole pennies. So, he asked them, “Why steal only pennies?”

“When we were kids, we loved to collect coins, but we especially thought that the penny brought us good luck,” said Bonny. “We could have stolen nickels, dimes, or quarters, but humble people that we are, the penny was as high a coin as we wanted. Copper and zinc rule!”

Bonny’s answer surprised the judge; he just didn’t make any “pennies”. So, he looked at the two of them and banged his mallet as he told them to stand up. He proclaimed, “Clint and Bonny Steele – I’m sentencing you both to toil in the copper and nickel mines from morning till noon. Then you’ll both go to prison currency club meetings where you’ll learn to appreciate learning.” about others”. kinds of coins.

They didn’t mind the hard work in the copper mines, but going to coin clubs was horrible, absolute torture for any human being. Clint yelled at the judge, “These coin club meetings are unfair.” Clint then frantically told Bonny, “Sister, we’re being ‘nickeled, decimated, and quartered.'”