A man in France with the history of swallowing coins went to a nearby doctor with a sore and swollen belly. The man had swallowed around 350 coins - $650 worth - as well as various needles and necklaces. The man, 62 years old, was taken to an emergency room in 2002. He had a history of stomach pain and troubles with eating. The doctors took an X-ray of the man's stomach and what they saw was shocking. They found a huge ball of coins that turned out to weigh around twelve pounds. This weight had forced his stomach down in between his hips and had destroyed its lining. A little less than a week later the doctors removed his stomach and everything in it. He died twelve days later of complications.

Dr. Bruno Francious stated that the patient had been swallowing coins for over a decade. He had a rare condition...