Time Travel Barter Game

Wow, I wrote my story at the same time you wrote yours. You beat me to the Enter key.

 

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Oh my goodness! I wish i knew enough about the coins of the time period to partake!
I will say this, knowing what we know about time travel, because we've done it so many times, I'd be terrified to swap any change in my pocket, because of the Butterfly Effect.
If ppl of that time period got a look my crappy change, and LIKED it, we may never have the Barber beauties, or the winged liberties, that we love so much. I'd observe as keenly as possible, take the coolest stuff i could find, like that gorgeous dime, and leave nothing but footprints in the style of the shoe of the time (no Nikes, that could ruin everything!).

On that note, i love that I've found your site, and i hate that I've found your site. Being new to all this, I'm amazed at how truly little i know, and how wonderful this numismatic world is. I didn't know coins like this existed. So i love the site for opening my eyes, and i hate the site for opening my eyes. Seeing those dimes, i know, i need to move on from my simple silver circulation obsession, to actually becoming a collecting member of the community.
Thanks for the site. Truly gorgeous pieces.

 

I would travel to Westfield, Illinois. I guess Chicago is the closest, so I would go there, then purchase travel to Westfield. Why? Simple for me. I want some answers to a coin that has been passed down in my family for 4 generations. This coin, however, may have older roots, and I want to know about it. My Great-grandfather (born 1883) passed said coin (seen here)

to my grandpa, who passed it to my dad, who passed it to me. My son will get it one day. But my great-grandpa was born in 1883, and this coin was minted in 1851. Could it have been passed down from earlier times? My 3rd-great-grandfather was married in 1853 in Westfield, Illinois. So I would go to him and ask about the coin. Did he save it to mark the moment (or year) he met his wife? Then gave it to my great-great-grandfather (born 1856) to honor that moment? If during the conversation with my 3rd-great-grandfather he knows nothing about the coin, well, at least I am 1 step closer to where it came from (gotta talk to the adult 2nd-great-grandpa). But, if he did save it for some reason, which I hope he would tell me, then this coin is worth more than a 1933 legal double eagle to me, and hopefully my son. At any rate, I hope that dime I found could help me on this quest. Here's the tombstone of my 3rd-great-grandfather. I know where his farm was also, but don't have a pic, but it's within 1.5 miles of his grave.

 

Hey you wrote a story and I guess I just go the Baltimore so we don't cross streams

 

You guys related to Nick Swisher, ex NY Yankee?

 

Sadly, no. My ancestors came to America in the 1740s via New Jersey. His ancestors came via Virginia.

 

From my grandmother:

"George Emery Logue was called Emery. He was born in Clinton Co, PA, on 14 Sept. 1844. He enlisted in the Civil War on 28 Oct. 1861 when he had just turned 17 years old. He reenlisted after three years and served until the end of the war. He was quite short, 5 ft. 4 in. Grandma said he was 'feisty as a bandy rooster'. He also drank too much, no doubt trying to prove he was as big a man as any one, like most small men. Until he met Grandma, he roamed. As soon as the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers became navigable in the spring, he was off on a raft, floating from Muscoda on the Wis. to the Mississippi, selling and trading with the people along the rivers. He often went as far as New Orleans and was gone for weeks at a time. Marriage didn't stop this, but he came home for winter. Grandma had a farm from her father, so he plowed and planted in the spring, then took off, leaving Grandma to care for it with the help of her many half brothers and their sons. In spite of this, Grandma thought him to be a good man, a kind and loving father and husband. He dropped dead at age 47 with a heart attack, said to be caused by his four years of fighting in the War. I would say that the following years also took their toll." [Note - His father and brother also served in the Civil War and both died soon after, having been imprisoned in Andersonville].

"He was thirty-four when he rode a horse with a friend past the farm where Grandma, a girl of fifteen, was idly swinging on the farm gate, her long black hair (it hung to her knees still at 84) flying in the breeze. She had just lost her father, and was wondering on this spring day which one of her half brothers or sisters (she had ten) would be taking her in. Grandpa is supposed to have turned to his friend and said 'There is the girl I'm going to marry'. And he did, four months later on 20 July 1879. "

So, I would travel to Pleasant Hill, Wisconsin in 1865, and give the 1857 dime to the parents of Julia (Miller) Logue, the girl swinging on the farm gate. When she's old enough, tell her to give the dime to a guy on a horse named Emery and tell her that she should be sure to marry him, because otherwise I won't exist. Also tell him to pass the dime down to his granddaughter, my grandmother, so she can give it back to me, his great-great-grandson to be.

Of course, being the bandy rooster, George swapped the real 1857 dime for this 1861 counterfeit and spent the 1857 on whiskey. I ended up with the counterfeit from my grandma. I'm entering this contest so I can get my 1857 dime back. If I don't win, then I won't exist.

 

Scene - morning, April 26, 2022, U.S. Mint building, Philadelphia, PA

“Good morning. My name is ‘Garlicus’. I have a (bearer’s instrument of conveyance) which states that you have $100 face value of 1865 proof coins for me. Is the Director available?”


Hopefully I will have time to fill in the details before this contest is over. If not, no big deal. I plan to do it this evening, either way.

 

Last minute entry, as I am a PROcrastinator.

Also, I couldn't quite put together the plan that would have allowed me to get info to myself in 2005, to invest with a firm that would have invested early in Apple, Netflix, Tesla and Bitcoin, without my knowing what they were invested in, until after I came back, so that I could have maintained the life that I had up until I went into the time machine. Anyways, on with my entry...


As the shaking stops, and the crazy, sometimes blinding lights stop flashing, I think to myself "Is it over? Did I make it to DC in 1865?" I open the doorway and step out. "Well, this isn't where I started. At least I didn't end up someplace too funky." I look across the horizon and see the dome of the Capitol building.


"OK, at least I'm in DC, and these clothes I found to wear made it, so I'm not walking out of this thing naked like Jeff Goldblum in The Fly, or landing naked like Schwarzenegger in Terminator." I think to myself with with a smile. I check to see if the $2.58 pre-1866 money that I brought made it, as well. It did. Now, time to begin my trek into the city. But first, let me cover up this contraption so that no one finds it. I hope I can find my way back. Better leave some markers along the way.

After 45 minutes, I make it into the city. The time period looks right. I see a newspaper stating that the train carrying Lincoln's body is departing today, so I know that it is indeed April 21, 1865. I also come upon what I was hoping to find, a wanted poster for Booth. I grab it and head towards the White House, as I know that is where the main body of the War Department is located.


Along the way, as I did when I first entered the city, I take in the sights and sounds, while trying to pick up speech and mannerisms, etc... of the era, so that I may not seem so out of place when I reach my destination. I am not in too much of a hurry, as I know that I have at least 9 hours to make it back to the machine, but I plan to make it back with hours to spare. I also go over what my story will be when I get to speak with someone at the Department and try to make a deal without getting locked up myself.

I reach my destination and finally get to speak with someone that is taking tips about the possible whereabouts of Booth. I tell him that I may have information, but that if it turns out to be true, I don't want the full reward of $50,000. I would only want $100 in 1865 proof coins, and the rest of the reward could be split among those that actually capture him. Obviously, he starts to dismiss me, thinking that I am just some crackpot, but I persuade him to get someone with authority, to listen to my offer.

Knowing that a tip led to Booth's capture, and that the troops that caught him split reward money, I lay out my proposal for the payment of the reward, should my information prove accurate - I will receive a bearer's note/promissory note that states that the US Government will pay the reward of at least $100 in 1865 proof coins, containing at least one coin of each denomination, cent through $20, which will be held at the US Mint until the bearer of this note, named (Garlicus), a descendant of (my great, great, great grandfather, whose name I have given as my own, and his wife) comes to claim the reward at the US Mint office in Philadelphia, which can only be claimed between 2020 and 2050. If the coins are not available at the time the note is delivered, or within 60 days, the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue payment to the bearer, as a just debt owed by the US govt, for the numismatic value of those coins on the date that the note is presented to the US Mint. I explain that my greatest desire is for Booth to be caught, but that the $100 reward is a legacy that I wish to leave to my family, should they adhere to my instructions about naming a child ‘Garlicus’, who could claim the reward within the allotted time frame. Of course, once again, I am looked at as someone with mental issues, but I convince the person in charge to agree to my terms, since they have nothing to lose, and even if my information is correct, the $100 reward would probably not be collected. As a bonus, I ask that the Booth wanted poster that I grabbed earlier, be signed by General Grant and placed with the coins. They dismissively agree to this, as well.

I lay out my story, that about a week before the assassination of the President, I was in a tavern near Georgetown, having a meal, and overheard a couple of gentlemen in the corner talking. They were speaking low, but I did hear something that caught my ear 'the 25th at Garret's place in Port Royal'. The reason I picked up on this is because my mother's birthday (a lie) was coming up on the 25th. I told them that when I saw the wanted poster today, which I had with me, I recognized Booth as one of the men. I throw in a few other random 'details', as well.

The paper is drawn up with the terms, including my tip information, for verification, a clause that my identity shall not be made public, nor that of the bearer who claims the coins, and is signed by the person highest in command (perhaps Stanton himself, or maybe even the new President, whom I think I saw earlier). A second copy is drawn up for them to keep, as well, to keep with the coins. On the reverse of both copies, as an identifier, I write LordM, since it was one of his CT contests that led me to The Machine in the first place, and my own special symbol, which I have tattooed on my arm.

I hope that they do not discard it when I walk out the door, and that they honor the terms of it. As I am leaving, I thank them on behalf of myself and my descendant (me), and add “Hey, if you want to add a proof set each year, as interest, of coins 50 cents and less, I am sure that ‘Garlicus’ won’t mind, and it will only cost you less than a dollar per year for no more than an additional $185 over that whole time.”.

After leaving the War Department, I have the fortune of finding an 1857 dime on the grounds of the White House. I think to myself "I hope this isn't my only reward". I proceed to walk around DC and decide to stop into the bank to see if I can make some change, specifically some 'newer' 1864 and 1865 coins. I get 6 half dimes, 7 two cent pieces and 2 three cent pieces for my half dollar coin. Nice, the coins are newly arrived 1865 half dimes, 1864 small motto 2 centers, and the trimes are in decent condition, as well. As an afterthought, I trade the 1857 dime that I found earlier for 2 more half dimes for my nephews.

Having spent 5 hours in DC already, I know that I must head back to The Machine. With my bearer’s note in hand, I grab another Booth wanted poster on my way out of town, and some other memorabilia, including a newspaper. I follow my markers back and get into The Machine, hoping that it brings me back to 2021, which it does.

Now to see if our DM, LordM deems my trips through time successful. If not, at least I brought back some cool items. How does the following scene play out? Does the government honor their word? Do I have to bring a claim against them? Did I get stuck in 1865?...And what about MaryLou?


Scene - Tuesday morning, April 26, 2022 (167th anniversary of the day Booth was caught), U.S. Mint building, Philadelphia, PA.


“Good morning. My name is ‘Garlicus’. I have a bearer’s instrument of conveyance which states that you have $100 face value of 1865 proof coins for me. Is the Director available?”

 

You're too generous. I couldn't expect a proof in my change, so yes, a business strike would be great. I also find it remarkable that it travelled so far in so short a time, I expect it was in someone's pocket who was pretty keen to get to the site of the gold rush.

I was hoping for more gold but as you say it's tricky panning in the dark.

 

Well, I feel bad I missed all this fun. It's April, but what the heck: I'd go to New Orleans, enter the first bars/saloons I could find, and use a few of my card tricks and riddles to parlay my dime into 50 cents. As soon as I had that much I'd go to banks and other establishments until I found my "O" Confederate half dollar. If I found one quickly enough, I'd keep looking for others to trade up in grade.

Steve

 

Not sure how I missed this post, but I did. this is a scenario I have though about for a long time, but, having been born a century too late, I would hide the time machine, try to save the soldiers that would be killed on the explosion of the SS Sultana in six days and then find a job and live the rest of my life quietly. No "get rich from my knowledge of coming events," or finding valuable coins to bring back, just a peaceful life in some small town.
Good luck to the finalist.