One of the most famous characters to walk Edinburgh's streets, 'Mr Penny' was a homeless man who became known for his incredible generosity – despite having very little.
Well known to anyone who lived in the capital in the 1960s and 1970s, he was instantly recognisable due to his trademark wellington boots, leather flat cap, and thick tweed jacket, reports Edinburgh Live.
Originally a bit of a mysterious character, he went on to become something of a local legend, with the name 'Mr Penny' being 'coined' due to local residents learning of his habit of leaving a trail of coins on every bench he sat down at.
Rumours quickly began to circulate that the kind-hearted Mr Penny even used to pop money into parking metres to stop people getting one of the city's infamous parking tickets.
Others believed he was actually rich and that living on the street was simply a choice for him.
According to one local, who posted recently posted about Mr Penny on social media, the itinerant Edinburgher was financially secure, and was known to slip a penny under the door of St John's Church on Lothian Road as a thank you for allowing him to sleep in their doorway at nights.
They also heard a rumour that he had a lot of money in the merchant bank in Charlotte Square.
Another user said that her grandfather used to speak with Mr Penny and recalled being told how Mr Penny had previously been a doctor, but decided to pack it all in following the tragic loss of his wife.
The story goes that, after failing to save the love of his life despite being trained in the medical profession, he turned to the streets.
Others also claim Mr Penny had been a doctor.
One person said: "My mother passed him once as he came out of the RBS at Marchmont. The teller thought he might have been a surgeon at one time."
Whatever the true tale of the infamous Mr Penny was, it certainly had locals at the time perplexed and bemused at the background of this man and why he would choose to live on the streets if he clearly had some money to his name.
Others have linked him to the Grassmarket area of the city centre, saying he used to regularly walk back and forth and sometimes stayed in the men's hostel in the area.
One user said: "He was a very wealthy man and used to walk down the Grassmarket topping up the parking machines. People working in the Bank of Scotland used to watch at the same time every day."
Another user told a heart-breaking tale of Mr Penny coming to their door and asking merely for some hot water, turning down everything else they offered.
They said: "I used to live in Brighton Street (off Lothian Street, at the back of the museum). He knocked on my door one afternoon and asked if I would fill his container, metal tin on a wire, with hot water for his tea.
"I asked him if he would like me to make some tea or a sandwich and he just said no thank you, just hot water. He then shut himself out while he waited."
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