My wife's father passed away recently and we spent Christmas day going through the family's things. When we were almost done for the day, her mother suddenly said "in the bottom left desk drawer there's a little box with some money in it." That caught my interest, so I fetched it and spread its contents out on the dining room table. Though it contained nothing of any great value, I still find it interesting to know what money people choose to stash away for whatever nebulous reason. As far as I know he never collected coins, but he did travel quite a bit with the US Navy in the early 1960s. The coins and bills in the box probably came largely from those travels, but it also contained other curious items. These probably had interesting stories behind them, but I didn't know about the box until after he passed, unfortunately. More for nostalgic history and sentimental record keeping, below is a picture of the box and the stash along with a complete listing of the box's contents. I was given the entire lot and I gladly and enthusiastically accepted it. By compiling this list I'll always know what the box contained. I'm not exactly sure what I hope to accomplish by sharing all of this, but I hope some of you find it at least mildly interesting. Coins Belgium 1 Franc: 1952 5 Franc: 1961 Canada Nickels: 1945, 1952, 1956 (2), 1961, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1974 Dimes: 1919 (very worn, probably VG - VF), 1947, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1974 Quarters: 1907 (almost unrecognizable, worn to an incredible degree) France 5 centimes: 1966 10 centimes: 1967 1 Franc: 1960 5 Francs: 1946, 1947 (both aluminum) 10 Francs: 1953 50 Francs: 1952 Germany 5 Pfennig: 1950 50 Pfennig: 1950 Italy 50 Lire: 1955 Luxembourg 1 Franc: 1965 Portugal XX Centavos: 1956 1 Escudo: 1958, 1962 Spain 5 Pesetas: 1957 (featuring Franco) United Kingdom Penny: 1904, 1912 (both very worn) Three Pence: 1944, 1953, 1961, 1962 Six Pence: 1955, 1957, 1960, 1966 Two Shillings: 1950, 1962, 1966, 1967 USA Cents Lincoln: 1940-D, 1943-D, 1945, 1946 (2), 1947-D (2), 1950, 1950-D, 1953-D, 1954-D, 1955-D, 1957-D, 1958-D Nickels Liberty: 1901 (very worn) Jefferson: 1940, 1943-P, 1947-D, 1952 Dimes Roosevelt: 1954-D, 1960-D, 1963-D, 1964-D (4), 1957(?) smothered in blue paint Quarters Barber: 1915-D (very worn) Washington: 1943 (very worn), 1964-D Halves Franklin: 1963-D Kennedy: 1964-D (2), 1967 (5), 1972-D Dollars Morgan: 1921-D (2) Peace: 1922-D, 1922-S, 1923-S, 1926-S Bills Brazil: Um Cruziero no date France: 5 New Francs 1960? (2) Italy: Mille Lire 1947 Japan: Ten Cents, Fifty Cents (Military issues) Portugal: Cem Escudos 1954 Spain: Una Peseta 1953 (very worn), Cien Pesetas 1953 (2) USA: $2 1953
Found a large pickle jar in my mothers things. It had many political buttons and UK coins worth about 6 pounds face value. Nothing worth much but really neat to find. The real value is in connection with family and memories.
"I ain't gonna eat out my heart anymore".... I haven't heard it in years! Brings back great memories; just a fantastic song! Thank you!
If in decent condition the French 5 New Francs are the most valuable items. The top part of one of the notes in the picture looks encouraging.
