Coin traditions

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by beaver96, Jan 21, 2021.

  1. beaver96

    beaver96 Well-Known Member

    The post on holed coins got me to thinking, (always dangerous), about some coin traditions. Nailed to a ship's mast, nailed over a door of a new house, in the bride's shoe. I learned that you were to always put money into a piggy bank, purse or wallet before giving it as a gift for good luck. Any other traditions?
     
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  3. Lawtoad

    Lawtoad Well-Known Member

    Adding silver coins (usually a sixpence) into plum pudding. A Christmas tradition. The notion being whom ever finds the coin will have good luck. English tradition
     
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  4. JayAg47

    JayAg47 Well-Known Member

    Sailors would put silver coins in barrels of water to prevent it from getting smelly (which they didn't know was caused by microbes, and that silver is anti-microbial).
     
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  5. Dialupsux

    Dialupsux Well-Known Member

    Putting a nail in your mast is inviting the worst luck possible
     
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  6. yakpoo

    yakpoo Member

  7. yakpoo

    yakpoo Member

    Some people (myself included) carry a "pocket piece" with a date of significance. Mine in a 1923 SLQ that doubles as a golf ball mark. Both of my parents were born in 1923.
     
  8. dimeguy

    dimeguy Dime Enthusiast

    We cannot forget about placing coins over the dead's eyes or in mouth for the afterlife. I believe Greece?
     
  9. masterswimmer

    masterswimmer A Caretaker, can't take it with me

    Tooth/pillow/money/tooth fairy
     
  10. yakpoo

    yakpoo Member

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  11. derkerlegand

    derkerlegand Well-Known Member

    My Dad was raised in a Texas seaport town in the 30's. He once told me that owners of a boat would bore a hole deep enough to accommodate a coin, and plug and paint over it. He said that if there was ever any dispute over the boat's ownership, the owner could identify the location and date of the coin for proof. I don't know, but Pop never was one to tell tall tales.
     
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  12. yakpoo

    yakpoo Member

    Today, something similar is done with pets...but the only coins involved are the ones you give to the Vet...

    https://www.americanhumane.org/fact...MI_7Ou0aKt7gIVAqCzCh22DQO2EAAYAyAAEgLa5fD_BwE
     
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  13. tibor

    tibor Supporter! Supporter

    If they don't choke and gag on their new found wealth.:vomit::yack:o_O
     
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  14. YoloBagels

    YoloBagels Well-Known Member

    In construction it's a tradition to throw in a coin (usually silver) when watering/filling concrete.
     
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  15. Parthicus

    Parthicus Well-Known Member

    Growing up, when giving a knife as a gift, the recipient has to immediately pay the giver a penny or other small denomination coin. The reason being, it is very bad luck to give a knife or receive one as a gift, but OK to buy or sell one; so the gift recipient is technically buying the knife for a penny. (This might be an old Sicilian superstition, I don't think I've heard it outside my family.)
     
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  16. Mr.Q

    Mr.Q Well-Known Member

    The best tradition of them all, ALLOWANCE... Learning to earn your wage! Great posts everyone.
     
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  17. trussell

    trussell Active Member

    I remember going into a bar and there would be a coin glued to the bar to see who might try to pick it up (being greedy).
     
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  18. Jim Dale

    Jim Dale Well-Known Member

    We live in the country, in North Carolina. We are surrounded by farmland. When one of our pets die, we bury them behind our home with their ID TAG and their pet toy. We also have a granite brick be placed in the ground above our pet, that has their name engraved on it with the birth and death dates. Should the property be sold at our passing (which could be soon, since we are 73 and 72), and the pet is inadvertently be exhumed, we would hope they would identify the pet and move the remains and the marker at another location. We always bury our beloved pets in their favorite blanket
    As you can tell, my wife and I are extreme animal lovers, with a Pitt Bull mix, Rottweiler mix, an Australian Shepherd (not a mix), two Chiweenies, and a cat. The cat lives in my office. The only ones we bought were the Chiweenies. The others were dropped at our door.
     
  19. VistaCruiser69

    VistaCruiser69 Well-Known Member

    The only coin tradition I was ever taught was to keep it out of your mouth.
     
  20. VistaCruiser69

    VistaCruiser69 Well-Known Member

    Very interesting. I like it. However, my boss has given me many knives over the years because one of his many hobbies is collecting them. He orders them constantly and when they arrive in the mail, if he doesn't quite like them for whatever reason, he gives them to me. I got a drawer full of them at home because of this. Nothing bad has happened.....yet.

    I've got some friends much older than I am who came from Sicily many years ago. They are in their 80's and the next time I see them I'll ask them why this is a superstition in Sicily.

    Lastly, I found this on Google a few moments ago in regards to the knife / penny superstition. Interesting.

    https://blog.knife-depot.com/knife-myths-giving-knives-as-a-gift-is-bad-luck/
     
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  21. bikergeek

    bikergeek Active Member

    ... or have to spend the money on dental bills to repair or pull a broken tooth!
     
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