Summary[]
Opie finds a man's change purse containing $50.
Plot[]
Opie finds a man's purse containing $50 inside (or about $508 adjusted for inflation). When he tells his pa, Andy puts it away for safekeeping, telling Opie if no one claims it within a week, the money is his. Opie starts thinking about what toys, fishing rods, and other items he’d like to buy. Soon, his patience is rewarded and the $50 is his. Andy also gives him a piggy bank to allow him to save some of the cash so he doesn't squander all of it.
However, as soon as Opie leaves with his money and bank, Barney reads in the Lost & Found section of the newspaper about Parnell Rigsby, who lost a purse containing $50. Andy decides to break the news to Opie and explain how he will have to return the money. But Andy can't bring himself to do it, so he decides to pay Rigsby back with his own money.
Opie buys a brand-new fishing pole and returns to the courthouse to show Andy and Barney, but they're gone. Just then, Parnell shows up. He tells Opie about the money, but Opie pretends he doesn't know anything about it. He realizes he must give the money back and leaves to get the money from the piggy bank.
Meanwhile, Andy and Barney go to Parnell Rigsby's house to pay him the $50 with Andy’s own money. As he is giving the cash to Parnell's wife, Parnell shows up. He mentions how he was just at the courthouse and that Opie didn't know anything about a missing purse.
Andy rushes home and asks Aunt Bee where Opie is. She says he's been busy trying to get the money out of his piggy bank. Andy goes to his room and sees that Opie has broken the piggy bank. He misunderstands Opie's intentions and thinks he's on a shopping spree with the money. Andy takes him to the courthouse to scold him about deliberately spending money that had to be returned. However, he quickly realizes he's made a mistake when he learns that Opie was trying to pay Parnell back. He was returning the fishing rod and he broke the piggy bank to get the remaining cash, which altogether totalled the $50 that Opie intended to pay back. Andy commends Opie for his moral deed, and later surprises Opie with the same fishing rod he had previously bought.
Notes/Trivia[]
- The Rigsby's hometown is given as Bannertown. Bannertown is a real town in North Carolina, just a mile or two from the "real" Mayberry, which is Mount Airy.
- Jon Lormer also played Tate Fletcher, whose cow was stolen in the episode, The Cow Thief. He also appeared as "Fletch" in Bailey's Bad Boy.
- The $50 dollars that Opie found in 1964, is the equivalent of $496.43 in 2023.
- In the opening scene, Barney is reading the "Mayberry After Midnight" section of the newspaper, a section written by Red Akins (a 16-year old Mayberrian). It is revealed that Rhoda Apfle is getting married. It is also mentioned that Lorraine and Howard Felcher are getting divorced which Barney attributed to Lorraine's drinking habit.
- Barney confesses to dating Phoebe Gilbert (Lemley Gilbert's sister) before he dated Thelma Lou. Barney mentioned taking Phoebe out to "The Blue View" on one of their dates.
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