People will never be able to accuse retired Masterton librarian Joy Tutty of not having a brass razoo - because she has.
While sorting through coins donated to Holdsworth Lions this week, as part of the Coins for Kids project, Miss Tutty's very last coin of the day's sorting turned outto be one few people get to see, or own. There is a twist to the tale though - for although mock coins of one razoo are in circulation there is actually no such currency.
Brass razoo is an Australian phrase that had its origin in World War I and has since found its way into the Oxford Dictionary.
To label someone as not "having a brass razoo" means the person referred to is flat broke, the dictionary says.
Miss Tutty and her fellow Lions Club members sort donated coins of any denomination and from any country and dispatch them to Wellington, where they are melted down for their metal value.
The money paid to Lions goes towards bettering life experiences of young New Zealanders through such organisations as Outward Bound.
Although Miss Tutty was planning to dispatch the brass razoo, she has now decided to swap it for a coin from her own purse and retain it for its novelty value.
In the six months Coins for Kids has been going in Wairarapa, 147,644 coins "of all types" have been donated.
Wairarapa people who want to add to this tally are more than welcome to do so.
