Hillcrest Student Holds Guiness Record for Largest Sand Dollar

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third-grader Augie Balicki suspected when he unearthed an enormous sand dollar from a sandbar while vacationing with his family at Treasure Island, Fla. last spring that it just might be a record-breaker. Turns out he was right—in a big way.

Augie recently received an official letter and a certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records, pronouncing that the 12.73-centimeter sand dollar that he discovered was the largest ever found and measured anywhere in the world.

“I was really excited,” Augie said.

Last April Augie and his family were hunting for sand dollars on a sandbar just 50 feet or so from their hotel, shuffling their feet as they walked to avoid stepping on a stingray. His foot bumped up against something hard—a partially buried sand dollar. He carefully unearthed it and was amazed by what he saw—an extremely large sand dollar in perfect condition.

“It was whole, so I took it back with us,” he said.

With the average sand dollar measuring in at just five to 10 centimeters, the family knew Augie had found something special. They carefully placed the sand dollar in a perfectly sized plastic sand-sifter and double-bagged it for the trip home, to ensure it arrived unscathed.

They brought the sand dollar to the Shedd Aquarium so it could be measured and authenticated by a qualified biologist, then sent the information off to the Guinness Book of World Records and waited. The letter and certificate proclaiming Augie’s accomplishment arrived just before New Year’s.

Not only is Augie’s sand dollar the largest ever found and recorded, it is also unusual in that it has five keyholes instead of the more run-of-the-mill six, he said. Augie said they are planning to get a shadowbox for his sand dollar soon, but right now it’s safe and sound inside the sand-sifter.

Once Augie had received his certificate, he was anxious for school to start again so he could share the news with his classmates—and now he’s waiting to see whether his record will actually be included in the new edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.

“Not all records get in the book, but I’m really hoping this one does,” he said.