I won a 1857 Flying Eagle Cent on Ebay. Average circulated nothing really special. The seller put a note with it which was kind of cool. Probably total BS but pretty neat just he same. "In the early thirties "Pretty Boy Floyd" was a notoriois criminal. We lived in Bruner Hill, a street car station between Tulsa and Sand Springs, Ok. We lived in the last house of the residential section, with a dirt road running beside our house that led up into the hills. One night someone knocked on our kitchen door and my mother went to answer it. There was a man standing there looking to be in a great hurray. He wanted directions to get back on the main highway. My mother gave him the directions and said, "I hope that helps you." He said, "Thanks", and reached into his pocket. grabbed a bunch of change and handed it to her. Some of them dropped on the ground. The next day my mother and dad read the "Pretty Boy Floyd" had been in the area and there was an all points bulletin out on him. My mother recognized the picture in the paper as that of the man who had been at our kitchen door the night before. I went outside and looked on the ground to see if any of the coins that I heard drop were still there. I found a nickel, a dime and this 1857 Eagle Penny on the cement." Seller didn't mention this when selling it so it didn't influence my purchase. Probably total BS but nice to think this coin may have this history associated with it but I highly doubt it.
Great idea. I never thought of making up stories to go along with coins but I will make an effort to do so.
Gee, I'm totally disappointed. Maybe all those IHC's in an old drawstring bank bag wern't really collected by my father when he delivered newspapers in the 30's.
The best note I ever got from an eBay seller (from whom I purchased about 5-6 circulated Indian Head cents for around $11), was "thank you, and here's a 2009-D Lincoln Cent from Hodgenville". It's still the only one I've ever seen in person.
check for fingerprints? Then eBay them as the loot that Pretty Boy Floyd did not get! [Hey if the GSA can do it with silver dollars, why not you!]
I really don't see why you should doubt the story. As you mentioned the seller did not use that as a selling point. And many of the famous criminals of the 20's and 30's were people you know. They too had to buy food, clothing, go places like people that were not crimials. Remember John Dillinger. He went to movies but probably shouldn't that last time. My Dad used to drive trucks for Al Capone when he first got to Chicago. At times he was paid by Big Al. Now if he would have kept that money, in the future, now, who would believe it? People like Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby faced Nelson, Al Capone, John Dillinger, Machine gun McGurn and lots and lots others were still just people. They too handled coins you know. Some of your coins may well have been in Al Capone's pockets. As a kid we used to go behind the Music Box Movie House and look for bullets. If we did find any, who would have belived us.
Very well said. Now that is cool about your father driving for Capone. On the story they sent me. I would like to think it has some truth to it. Gives this old average circulated flying eagle cent some character.
One of the things we like about circulated coins is the history that could be behind them. We'll never know the answer of course, but what if the 1/2 groat with the portrait of Elizabeth I was actually held by Her Majesty? Through whose hands did it pass before coming to our collection? It's fun for us to imagine. My mother doesn't own many coins, but one is a fairly ordinary Buffalo Nickel auctioned by a large well-known respected house (I just don't recall which one otherwise I'd name it). What makes this nickel special to her is that it was said to be part of the Arthur Conan Doyle collection. I tend to believe that this is true and my mom is proud to own it. It's OK if that doesn't hold any particular value to you as well. Since it wasn't a selling point, I don't think there was any harm in telling the story. I'm sure the seller wanted to give you something else to keep and enjoy along with the coin.
If you are one who wonders about who in history handled the items that you now own, you should rent The Red Violin. Samuel L Jackson is in it. It's a fastenating tale and you will appreciate the things that you own more from watching it. Don't read the wikipedia article ..it tells you the entire story. It's much better to rent the film and watch it cold. Knowing the ending just ruins the excitement of the storyline.
Wow, lucky purchase. The last Morgan I bought off Ebay had a "Free Numismatic Gift" included. A circulated Oklahoma quarter (D) in a 2x2 flip. Guess I got 25 cents of my purchase. Rick L.
I got to admit I debated whether I was going to post this little story thinking I might get ridiculed for even remotely believing it. The seller not use this little story as a selling point which gave me some credence that the story might have some truth to it so I decided to post it. I know a lot of us, like George said, love the history behind coins. I am quite a history buff and that is one of the factors that got me into collecting coins. Carl stated that everyone including famous people use coins for commerce so it's nice to think someone famous may have handled the coin that we own. Just makes it that much more interesting to collect. Andrew. I put "The Red Violin" on my Netflix queue. Sounds like a movie I will really like. Thanks.
From Wikipedia, (so you know it's true)..... "The Time magazine of 22 October 1922, mentions a robbery of $3.50 in pennies from a local post office as his first known crime. He was eighteen years old at the time." It looks like he left you one of those 'pennies'.....
