The Penny Jar

About a month ago, it was brought to our attention that Brian had a jar full of pocket change sitting in his parent's basement.  When Tom brought the jar up, we all immediately agreed to a guessing game!

The Rules:
-Guess how much money (in US dollars) the jar is holding.
-Foreign currency is not included.  (Nor are buttons.)
-Closest person to the exact dollar amount is the winner.  No if's, and's, or but's.
-Winner gets a dinner of their choice, cooked at the house of their choice (ours or Mary & Tom's) by the loosers...(of their choice!)

The Bets:
-Brian: $23.00
-Erin: $17.67
-Mary: $35.00
-Tom: $22.01

Last night, the jar was emptied, taken to the local grocery store, and poured into the automatic counting machine.  (Do I make it sound like this is 1956 and the 'automatic counting machine' is a grand new invention?!)

Anyway, we found out that a grand total of $31.86 was in the jar!

AND THE WINNER IS...

(Drum roll, please.)

MARY!

Followed by Brian in a close second, Tom with third, and yours truly in last.  (Much to Brian's dismay, we did not have the 'closest without going over' rule...)

We are looking forward to the winner's choice meal!  I suppose we at least have $31.86 to put toward it!

Congratulations, Mary, on your superior guessing skills!!!