A Mardi Gras Story

Great stuff! Thank you for sharing the stories and doubloons.

 

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I think that Mardi Gras is so much more fun for a kid than it is for adults. Kids had no worries in the world of course, but instead, a sincere desire for experience.

Our typical Mardi Gras Tuesday was to get up early enough to drive across the bridge to get to downtown, watch Pete Fountain, then wander on down St. Charles to watch the Rex, Elks and Crescent City parades followed by a long walk back to the French Quarter to get some beignets at Cafe du Monde, exploring the various t-shirt stores (which had black light rooms in the back with all of the cool hippy, peace and grateful dead keep on trucking posters), a quick stop at St. Louis Cathedral because we're Catholic, a slow stroll around Jackson Square to look at all the local street painters hawking their ware, and then a stroll down Bourbon Street to take in the spectacle of costumes and take a quick peak into the strip clubs before the door man noticed that a 8 year old was trying to sneak a peak. The whole time listening to the live jazz soundtrack emanating from the bars. Mom and Dad not giving a damn whether or not us kids were being exposed to such debauchery . Then the slow drive back over the bridge to home and a well deserved night of sleep before school the next day.

 

Yes! People were getting hurt.

 

Changed drastically! This is the only one I have from my dad’s coins I am going through and found this one one day. Not as old but pretty I think anyway lol!

 

Some doubloons are made of plastic very few aluminum coins. Do you happen to know why @CoinCorgi?

 

Not sure what you are talking about, but as far as I know 99.99% of throw doubloons are aluminum. They used the 15ga aluminum because they were extremely cheap to make and only weighed 4 or 5 gms and couldn't hurt a flea when thrown from the floats. If they are making them out of plastic now, then it must be cheaper and safer. In my day (lol), anything plastic was usually attached to the strings of beads they threw.

 

Rarely plastic is or was used. The collections you see are valuable to the collector. The one I have is $20 and that is in the 1980s. The older ones are really nice ones. I regret not saving mine. Yes some made in a party store may be plastic but that is not where the official parades get theirs. Hope that helps some.


Morganna)
King Arthur 2012 (Merlin / theme)






Base Material - Aluminum, wood, bronze, copper, silver oxide and sterling silver are the most common materials used to make doubloons, but also to a lesser extent brass, nickel, pewter, leather, plastic and gold / gold-plated.
Cleopatra 1982 plastic
Krewe of Thoth 2005 gold-plated bronze

 

CoinCorgi - thanks for posting! I know you and your brother had a good time chasing those things. Being from Baton Rouge, I saw many of the doubloons that began to float around at the coin club, but didn't really collect them, trying to raise two young children back then is my excuse I think. Guess I was turned off by the fact they were aluminum. Today, honestly, it doesn't make any difference and what other metal could have been used as throws anyway. wish I would have kept more of them. Prior to those doubloons, the throws were beads but the doubloons were especially popular, weren't they! I saw the "H Alvin Sharp" reference in your catalogue and that is a blast from the past. I have some wooden nickels that our BR Coin club were issuing back then. Aren't you a wooden nickel collector? Someone on CT posted some time back but the email got away from me.

 

Thanks for sharing your story! If they threw something other than aluminum doubloons, you'd definitely feel it!

There are a few years when the Pete Fountain Half/Fast Walking Club issued wooden doubloons. Rather simple things. I have a few with no current plans to get a complete set. But we'll see!

 

As a kid, there was a particular "art" to chasing down the doubloons. Being shorter than the adult units, we would basically wait for the doubloons to fall to the ground with that "aluminum" sound. We'd then scoop 'em up, but if an adult put their foot on top of the doubloon to stake claim, we'd basically do a body check on their knees while trying to lift their foot. Pissed off a few people, but what are they gonna do to a kid?!

 

Probably did not know. Sorry for the break in but hey you have those beautiful designs and some of the older ones as you know, the quality was even better and designs are pretty. You can’t get the majority of those in a regular store here.

 

Happy Mardi Gras, y'all!!!

 

Hmm. I thought they only threw beads.

 

Throw me something, mister!

 

While I was reading your story about the Aluminum throws I saw 2 on my computer desk they are from 1986, I also have a throw from 1967 when our neighbor went to new Orleans many years ago. It's someplace around the house. you wrote a nice story. Thanks.

 

Yes an awesome story

 

Another song of the day, by the great trumpet man Clyde McCoy. My dad had this Vogue Picture Record and I played it a lot when I was a kid. Kudos to the arranger on a job well done.

 

Just thinking about attending a Mardi Gra has me hyper ventilating. Crowds of people, mostly drunks, no thanks. I'll pass, especially with this pandemic. But, by all means, the rest of you have fun. LOL

 

Well I have been there done that. Years ago yes for me but now, nope! It gets out of hand at times. Although it’s still pretty especially the night parades, but I catch it now and then when they air on TV.

 

Quite the bazar thread. At first