Maine Contractor Pays $20K Fine With 6 Tons of Coins

Ever been so annoyed you paid a fine in 12,000 pounds of change? Kirk Sherman did just that.

Talk about making a point! A Maine contractor delivered a $20,000 fine to the town of Palermo in a rather unusual way, he dropped off more than 6 tons of coins at the town office.

A business owner and contractor named Kirk Sherman, was cited by the town of Palermo, for illegally constructing a wide gravel road on lakefront property along Lake Sheepscot, which he and a partner purchased in 2024.

Town rules allow for limited shoreline development, such as a small footpath, but Sherman’s exceeded those guidelines. He managed to avoid penalties from the State of Maine, but the town of Palermo, wasn't quite satisfied with this, so they decided to slap him with a hefty municipal fine, to the tune of $20,000.

As you can imagine, Sherman was not too happy about this, so he delivered the entire bulk of the fine by dumping 12,000 pounds of loose, unrolled change, overwhelming the town staff.

Believing the town's actions were not fair, he was quoted as saying, “Here’s your payment—good luck,”

Palermo town officials didn't enjoy the gesture, and is now considering whether to impose a handling fee to recover the pain in the butt burden of sorting and counting 20k in coins.

Although crude, but effective, he has the right to do it, because coins are considered legal tender, and this isn't the first time a stunt of this magnitude has been pulled.

In October of 2023, a Colorado welding firm agreed to settle a lawsuit for $23,500, by paying in 6,500 pounds of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters,in a custom metal box delivered via flatbed truck and forklift.

So for now, the town of Palermo, Maine, has plenty of change for the laundromat!

After hearing of this story, I couldn't help but remember the episode of "Seinfeld" where Kramer was paying for everything in change, including the calzones that George needed everyday for lunch!