On 19th January 1947, South Steyne lifesaver Lloyd Watts was busy rescuing a girl from the surf, when he swallowed a florin. The florin (a round coin worth two shillings, about the size of a fifty cent piece) was his lunch money. He had been on patrol ready to buy lunch, when he had seen the girl in difficulties. He popped the coin into his mouth, but then in the rescue got a mouthful of water and swallowed it.
He was rushed from Manly Hospital to Royal North Shore Hospital, where, in what Mr Watts described as “the worst five or ten minutes of my life” a specialist probed with long forceps to retrieve the coin. It would not have been possible to remove the coin under anaesthesia, because it might have moved up and into Watts’s lungs.
The doctor gave him the florin as soon as he had removed it. Mr Watts declared that he was going to spend it as soon as he could, as it would only lead to more bad luck if he kept it.
He was rushed from Manly Hospital to Royal North Shore Hospital, where, in what Mr Watts described as “the worst five or ten minutes of my life” a specialist probed with long forceps to retrieve the coin. It would not have been possible to remove the coin under anaesthesia, because it might have moved up and into Watts’s lungs.
The doctor gave him the florin as soon as he had removed it. Mr Watts declared that he was going to spend it as soon as he could, as it would only lead to more bad luck if he kept it.
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