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Mine is awaiting me when I get home from work.

 

11:00 PM.

 

Nope. 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM. That’s my gig. I’m the only person singlehandedly running an 85-room hotel overnight, so I don’t get to go home early. Ever.

And when you’re in the resort hotel biz, you have to work when everyone else is on vacation. Including holidays. That’s the nature of the beast. But after 37 years in the industry, I’m quite used to it, and really don’t mind.

Here’s the hotel lobby.



Hm. Off on a tangent, again. Sorry.

Where was I?

Oh yeah. Secret Santa.

But first: wife, daughter and father-in-law are waiting to open presents. I’m home now.

We’ll get back to this in a little while…

 

OK, here’s what we’ve been waiting to see for 20 days now. My Santa this year is obviously the “get it done early” type, as the package arrived on December 5th.

Inside were two wrapped gift parcels. I could feel through the wrapping paper that the larger, heavier one was a book.




But I had no clue on the smaller one, and that intrigued me. I wondered if it was another book. In fact, I’d sort of assumed that for the last 20 days.

I opened that one first.

Aha! Not a book, but … coins!

And British coins! Did my Santa know I’ve loved British coins for over 40 years? Maybe. Or maybe it was just a great guess!




But what kind of British coins?

Aha! It’s a 1970 proof set! I love these sets. I haven’t owned one since the 1990s. Back then, if you were lucky, you could get them for around ten bucks. Which was a great deal, because these were really high quality, attractive sets. I suspect the days of being able to get one for ten bucks are probably long gone.

These sets were the last of the old predecimal (pounds/shillings/pence) monetary system, as the Brits transitioned to a modern decimal system in 1971.

It was in these proof sets that the only 1970 British large pennies were issued. The last ones issued for circulation had been struck in 1967.

This is the only time I’ve had one of these sets with the original outer envelope intact. I can imagine how few of those must have survived the last 54 years. By that I mean the outermost white paper envelope shown above, not the more sturdy inner case made of purple cardboard.

Inside the cardboard case was the innermost plastic frame containing the coins, as well as the original booklet and card that accompanied the set.

And also the letter from my Santa!






As I mentioned, I love these sets: the 1970 proof-only penny, the chunky dodecagonal (12-sided) threepence, the little rectangular Royal Mint medal, and the handsome purple insert. This particular set also appears to have a hint of toning, as well.

Now… on to the second, larger package, obviously a book. And a somewhat heavy book, at that.

This was a copy of Fads, Fakes, and Foibles by Roger Burdette. While I was vaguely familiar with the author’s name, I’d never heard of this title.




And it looks interesting, too, because a quick flip through some of the glossy pages reveals color photos of some coins I’ve never seen before, either! Interesting patterns and stuff.





I’ll bet this was not a cheap book. I will surely enjoy it.

Thank you, Santa!


Whew! I can go to bed now.

 

Now, way back on November 30, I said:

So I hope my Santa does not get offended if I one day re-gift that lovely proof set in one of my future giveaways.

As I explained earlier, I get the maximum enjoyment out of a lot of my coins by… giving them away. This does not mean I fail to appreciate owning them for a while before passing them along. Far from it.

I carefully curate my “Giveaway Gallery” as if it is a personal collection of my own. Which, essentially, it is. And I prefer to give away nice stuff- to keep an interesting variety of appealing coin gifts in my little “free store”, for my giveaway winners to choose from.

And that 1970 British proof set definitely meets the “nice” criteria, for sure. It’s made me happy this Christmas morning, and it’s gonna make me (and someone else) happy later, when I give it away.

The book I’ll hold onto… and read.

Thanks again, Santa. You’ll be giving me a chance to eventually play Santa myself, long after Christmas is over.

 

Those have gotta be rare. I see they were printed when the halfcrown was still a circulating denomination in the UK.

So, yeah. 57-year-old folders. Cool beans.

 

That 1916-D quarter has the perfect look for a circ Barber!