I've long had a love affair with these particular coins. As a young lad I'd pull them from pocket change. As a much older man I've encountered them at estate sales and thrift shops and I always grab a few. They call me, serenade me, comfort me. They harken me back to my early years when you pulled coins out of circulation, regardless of condition, and put them in an album and triumphed over the fact that you found a coin you needed. Only in desperation, for a particular coin, would you engage the services of a 'dealer' who posted his wares in Numismatic News. Now everything has to be encapsulated/entombed in plastic coffins, forever doomed to never breath fresh air or sunshine. Never to be held, caressed, stroked with greasy Col. Sanders finger licking good appendages. Of late, a few forgotten lovelorn examples that I recently discovered tucked away in a curious forgotten spot on my nightstand, of all places. The '42s intrigue me. What a dark day for America in those times. The Japs had bombed Pearl Harbor the prior December, and the Philippines were destined to fall. The only bright spot was the Doolittle Raid in April of that year. Oh how that gave us some hope..........and scared the devil out of the Japs, who thought themselves invincible and untouchable. Behold, some photos....... Thanks for lookin', and please do comment and post your own examples of 'times lost' collecting.........
Could be a featured article. I like the war coins. In fact, I found a 1945 P yesterday in a coin roll from my local bank. They are all beautiful.
@green18 Thanks for the invite to post regarding "Times Lost" collecting, I posted my experience as a young collector. It became a featured article. And if there is any interest it is https://www.cointalk.com/threads/building-a-twentieth-century-circulation-collection.385921/ Thanks.
Circulated coins rock. They did their job. Best of all, you don't have to be tortured with the Flea That Roared uncirculated grading.
@green18 very eloquently stated. A stroll down memory lane, for sure. What I like about the iconic war nickels are the 'green hue' that seems to emanate from each of them. Upon opening a roll of nickels and seeing that 'green' jump out at me my heart races just a bit. No, I know I didn't hit the lottery, but, just the feel of that war nickel creates just tad bit of adrenaline to course through my veins. I'm a sucker for that enlarged mint mark hovering above the most likely, nicely worn, muted if you will, Monticello, home of our third president, Thomas Jefferson.
Just the other night I pulled some well worn old nickels from the dark reaches of my safe to give my boy to plug holes in his new Whitman nickel book. With each nickel I would relay him a small story of the time and place we were in when that nickel did its job. Stories of families huddled around radios hoping to hear some news of the war front and hoping their sons were safe overseas. The 1950's coins would come with stories of the race to space and giant cars with big fins and families discovering television.
That's what I consider a lost function of our society. I am still in the support of storytelling. Young people don't have time to listen. That is part of the reason behind my attachment in #8 above. If the kids won't listen, I will write it down for someone who is interested.
I feel the same about many ancients, never being a stickler for grade. I especially feel this for some reason on bronzes, the warm glow of worn bronze just looks and feels comforting. I own many more expensive ancients, but always remember a VG bronze issued by the Ostrogoths immediately after the fall of the Western Roman empire in Rome. It has a label "Roma Invictus", Rome Unconquered, issued by German conquerers. Since its so worn, and circulated in Rome itself, I wonder how the population felt about that coin as they used it in daily commerce. I used to have a better memory, but today find myself not as much. As such, I bring up the Ostrogothic coin because its one of the few coins I remember owning. 99% of them it appears when I look in the SDB I have no memory of purchasing, but remember that one clearly. I remember the history and knowledge of coins, just losing memory of what coins do I own already.
Nice write up. Always fun to see interesting posts that change things up from the "normal CT routine"(but still have the numismatic connection). Ill get some good enjoyment thinking and reminiscing on the topic
A good example of how coin collecting teaches history, if the young collectors bother to research and read about it. https://www.britannica.com/event/Doolittle-Raid