In case you ever wondered where the coins went...

Today we were at the Archibald fountain in Hyde Park, where my son was fascinated by the man standing in the fountain and collecting muck and detritus out with one of those pool cleaners. As he came near our end of the fountain, I noticed quite a few coins bobbing around in the net.

Now I've always thought that taking coins out of a wishing well ranked relatively high on the bad karma scale, though I'm not sure if it counts if

a) it's not a wishing well but a fountain, and

b) you're contractually obliged to do it.

I asked him how much he usually finds and he said between five and ten dollars. Coins from all over Asia and the USA. Enough for a couple of extra beers after work, I expect. Would the tourists still throw coins if they knew this?