> > I'd say that it's ok to take some of the coins if you need/want them, as long as you leave enough for other people too, plus enough so that the bottom of the fountain still looks cool. I've taken 16 pennies from a public fountain before becasue I need that much more to pay for a $120 item (and the clerk wouldn't let me get away with 16 cents).
> >
> > Therefore, I think that pools ae more like 'give a penny, leave a penny' deals where it's ok to take some, as long as you don't take too much
> >
> > -Ka"And that's my 16 cents"z!
>
> You're probably right...it's probably not illegal to take money from a public fountain. Mall fountains might be a little different...I think you can get in trouble there, because the mall owns the fountain and therefore they own what is in the fountain.
>
> To me, it's not an issue whether it's legal or not. I would ask, is it polite to take money from a public fountain? If I had just tossed in a coin and made a wish...or say if my child had done so...and then I saw someone come up and start grabbing coins, I would probably think that person was very rude. Sure, the wish thing is just a nice tradition, but to a kid, it's real. To a kid, you are stealing. You're stealing wishes.
>
> Gri"so you probably ought to sneak out and do it at night when no one is looking"shny

I'd definitely have to agree with Grishny on this one. (Please excuse any generalizations) When people throw money into a fountain, it's not in order to empty up their pockets a bit, but to make a wish. When that coin enters the water, it is no longer just a monetary unit; it becomes a symbol of their wish, a symbol of their dreams.
Some poeple are very superstitious, and to them such an act could be viewed as evil or even blasphemous (in a way).
Any coin in a fountain should be regarded as a symbol of someone else's dreams, and treated as such. It's an issue of politeness, of tradition, of what's sociallly acceptable. It may not be illegal, but does it really need to be in order for poeple not to do it?

Tra "tossing in my two cents" nio