[size=55:15ttzzma]Daily mail
How I turned penny into a plot of land in BULGARIA in just five weeks after series of bizarre on-line swaps
Most people would be satisfied with buying three goldfish for the bargain sum of a penny - but not Luke Seall.
The enterprising 27-year-old decided he wanted more – a lot more - and though a series of canny trade-ups has ended up with a plot of land on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast.
The gardener from Brighton started his project five weeks ago on New Year's Day and plans to see just how far he can make the copper coin stretch during 2011.
He began by buying three goldfish from a friend who had no bowl to keep it in.
He turned down the first offer for them - 2p and a can of beer - holding out until he got an acoustic guitar from a man who was desperate for a pet but told he could not keep a dog in his rented flat.
Mr Seall, who was inspired by his father telling him to look after his pennies, said: 'I was beginning to think I'd be stuck with those fish forever.
'Just when I was beginning to lose hope, I received an email from a nice chap called Dennis. He offered me a guitar for the three goldfish.
'The main advantage that guitars have over fish is that you don't have to feed it. And you can't kill it.'
As word spread through his Twitter and Face-book sites, offers started flooding in and he soon exchanged the guitar for a mountain bike.
He sold the bike for £50 and put an advert on the private trade website Gumtree asking for suggestions to spend his riches.
He was astonished to get a call offering land in Bulgaria, near the Black Sea Coast.
He said: 'After some extensive research into what you can get for £50, I found you can buy a flute, a fish board (not sure what that is), some computer games, a printer, some offcuts of block paving, an old Ford Fiesta XR2i engine, a bike, a settee, a bed, a television, some boxes of red wine - or 10 square metres of land in Bulgaria.'
His foray into the international landowning began with an email from Paul Holman, saying: Hi Luke, I like your project. How about I sell 10 sq mtrs of freehold land in Bulagia near the black sea coast?'
Mr Seall said: 'I'd never heard of anywhere called Bulgaria before, but after a quick consultation with a map I decided he meant Bulgaria.
'I know nothing about Bulgaria, except that the worlds first digital wrist watch was developed by a Bulgarian, but that's hardly relevant.
'Nevertheless, this offer sounded like a winner, so I decided to give Paul a call. He told me all about the land and it sounded perfect. He has quite a lot of it.
'Paul said that I, or whoever ends up with it can do anything with land including, camp on it, build on it, grow things on it, or "
use it for a memorial for a dead dog"
.
'He also said that he would gladly sell more of the surrounding land if I, or whoever ends up with it wanted to expand. It was an offer I couldn't refuse.'
But Mr Seall added: 'I don't really mind what I end up with. It's more about the journey than the end result.
'When I was growing up my dad always said if you look after the pennies the pounds look after themselves.
'I have to admit, I haven't always looked after my pennies. But I always understood what my dad meant when he recited this proverb.
'It suggests that even one insignificant penny has the potential to become part of something greater.'
Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:13 pm
