I walk by these things all the time on the waterfront. They’re old and decaying a bit, staining the concrete on which they’re mounted. I have been meaning to shoot a photo of them for some time now and I discovered something wild about them today.

They each have a penny smashed into the center. Some are as recent as 1980 (yay birth year) but others date back to 1913. Truly something I wasn’t expecting from a bunch of nonchalant, deteriorating, weathered wheels. Whether it’s graffiti or the artist’s original design, I may never know, but Seattle’s downtown waterfront just got a bit cooler in my eyes.