In August 2019, Paul was spotted leaving a dozen pennies on railroad tracks in Hamptons, New York, so they could be flattened by trains and turned into guitar picks. Paul owns a home in the Hamptons near these tracks.
The British tabloids lost their collective minds over this, reporting that the “Penny Lane penny pincher” has an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion, yet came up with this thrifty way to make, rather than buy, guitar picks.
Instead of trying to save money, we think Paul just wanted some quality picks. Other musicians, including Queen’s Brian May, have used flattened coins as picks because the metal is strong.

The British press was happy that Paul was showing his patriotism by wearing a Great Britain National baseball cap.

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On 12 Oct 2023, Bruce <SavoyBG@aol.com> wrote in rec.music.beatles:

> In August 2019, Paul was spotted leaving a dozen pennies on
> railroad tracks in Hamptons, New York, so they could be flattened
> by trains and turned into guitar picks. Paul owns a home in the
> Hamptons near these tracks. The British tabloids lost their
> collective minds over this, reporting that the "Penny Lane penny
> pincher"� has an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion, yet came up
> with this thrifty way to make, rather than buy, guitar picks.
> Instead of trying to save money, we think Paul just wanted some
> quality picks. Other musicians, including Queen's Brian May,
> have used flattened coins as picks because the metal is strong.

Whoever repeats this story or thinks it has any significance is
absolutely clueless and stupid about guitars. Flattened coins are
nothing like standard commercial guitar picks. And I doubt that they
are anything that Paul uses regularly. They're a specialty pick for
specialty sounds and situations. They wear out the stings in a hurry.

I used to work near some railroad tracks and would sometimes spend my
lunch hour down there letting passing trains squash coins. Quarters
made the most useful picks for me, though they always needed some
additional shaping with a file.

Brian May uses regular, unmolested sixpence coins. Not flattened ones.

On Saturday, October 14, 2023 at 7:47:22 PM UTC-7, Nil wrote:
> On 12 Oct 2023, Bruce <Sav...@aol.com> wrote in rec.music.beatles:
>
> > In August 2019, Paul was spotted leaving a dozen pennies on
> > railroad tracks in Hamptons, New York, so they could be flattened
> > by trains and turned into guitar picks. Paul owns a home in the
> > Hamptons near these tracks. The British tabloids lost their
> > collective minds over this, reporting that the "Penny Lane penny
> > pincher"ť has an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion, yet came up
> > with this thrifty way to make, rather than buy, guitar picks.
> > Instead of trying to save money, we think Paul just wanted some
> > quality picks. Other musicians, including Queen's Brian May,
> > have used flattened coins as picks because the metal is strong.
> Whoever repeats this story or thinks it has any significance is
> absolutely clueless and stupid about guitars. Flattened coins are
> nothing like standard commercial guitar picks. And I doubt that they
> are anything that Paul uses regularly. They're a specialty pick for
> specialty sounds and situations. They wear out the stings in a hurry.
>
> I used to work near some railroad tracks and would sometimes spend my
> lunch hour down there letting passing trains squash coins. Quarters
> made the most useful picks for me, though they always needed some
> additional shaping with a file.
>
> Brian May uses regular, unmolested sixpence coins. Not flattened ones.

Yeah, it seems like the wear on strings and potential damage to the instrument's finish would be horrendous. Of course, Brian May can afford all the strings he needs.

On Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 3:39:41 AM UTC-4, Norbert K wrote:
> On Saturday, October 14, 2023 at 7:47:22 PM UTC-7, Nil wrote:
> > On 12 Oct 2023, Bruce <Sav...@aol.com> wrote in rec.music.beatles:
> >
> > > In August 2019, Paul was spotted leaving a dozen pennies on
> > > railroad tracks in Hamptons, New York, so they could be flattened
> > > by trains and turned into guitar picks. Paul owns a home in the
> > > Hamptons near these tracks. The British tabloids lost their
> > > collective minds over this, reporting that the "Penny Lane penny
> > > pincher"ť has an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion, yet came up
> > > with this thrifty way to make, rather than buy, guitar picks.
> > > Instead of trying to save money, we think Paul just wanted some
> > > quality picks. Other musicians, including Queen's Brian May,
> > > have used flattened coins as picks because the metal is strong.
> > Whoever repeats this story or thinks it has any significance is
> > absolutely clueless and stupid about guitars. Flattened coins are
> > nothing like standard commercial guitar picks. And I doubt that they
> > are anything that Paul uses regularly. They're a specialty pick for
> > specialty sounds and situations. They wear out the stings in a hurry.
> >
> > I used to work near some railroad tracks and would sometimes spend my
> > lunch hour down there letting passing trains squash coins. Quarters
> > made the most useful picks for me, though they always needed some
> > additional shaping with a file.
> >
> > Brian May uses regular, unmolested sixpence coins. Not flattened ones.
> Yeah, it seems like the wear on strings and potential damage to the instrument's finish would be horrendous. Of course, Brian May can afford all the strings he needs.

And Paul can't?