Pocket Change, 300 Tons of It, Vacuumed in Midtown

Four Consolidated Edison vacuum trucks were enlisted yesterday to suck up 300 tons of pocket change, dismantling Rockefeller Center's Penny Harvest Field exhibit.

It was part of Common Cents' 17th annual Penny Harvest, a national educational program to teach children about contributing to society. A utility spokesman, Chris Olert, likened the sound of "Edison meeting Lincoln" to "a small room with 50 Shop-Vacs." Kids from some 800 schools collected about 100 million pennies — plus a few nickels, dimes and quarters that slipped in by mistake. The estimated $1 million now goes into the bank while they decide how to reinvest it in their communities.