OK, I've googled the heck out of this thing and I can't find any information about it and I figured this might be a good place to start. When my parents bought their first house back in Oregon in 1988 I was helping unpack and I found an 1877 Indian Head coin covered by one of those cardboard/plastic protectors. It was barely sticking out of our hood vent above our oven. Actually inbetween the cabinent wood and the metal exhaust port. Fast Forward to 2006 when we purchased our first house in North Carolina. After a few months I was cleaning and I just happened to notice something sticking out of the top of our Hood Vent above our oven (integrated with Microwave now). This time it was a full size 1906 Indian Head coin. Is this some tradition I've never heard about? Some secret code? I asked my dad if he was screwing with me as he was the only person that had helped us move in that would even know about the coin we found in their first house. He said he didn't and he had forgotten about it all until I had mentioned it. Ohh and I know this is my first post so if it is in the wrong section please let me know.
Howdy and welcome to the Forum !! Sounds to me like folks seem to think that inside their kitchen range hoods is a good place to hide their coins. They're wrong of course as it submits the coins to all kinds of risks - but then that never stopped some folks.
What's your Dad's phone number....? I wanna ask him to help me move next time I have to relocate. Was the tooth fairy good to you when you were little? Nightowl
I've had similar experiences when remodeling houses. Whenever we would tear out plaster walls, there was a good chance we'd find a wheat cent in one wall. I don't know if it was a tradition or common practice of new constructions a hundred years ago, but it seems to be common.
I haven't heard of this particular thing. In some cases people would put coins under the threshold of the front door to encourage good fortune (an old English tradition). When cornerstones were being put into place in skyscrapers, workmen would sometimes put coins from that year in with it before it was mortared into place.
Years ago it was a tradition for plumbers to put a cent from from the year a toilet was installed. The last cent I placed under one was in 2007. The oldest one that I've found while replacing a toilet was a 1910. This is why I love renevations, you can find all kinds of neat stuff...
I work on Chimney's and in the top of the chimney called the crown, the mason will mortar in a penny.
Wow, This is all very interesting. I've never heard of any of these. It doesn't surprise me though. I wonder if there is anything out there specific to the Indian head penny and hood vents. It was just so specific in each instance. Something like the chimeny or the toilet. But specific to this particular area. Very interesting.
WELCOME TO THE FORUM. Sure wish we had one of those smily faces that said that. As to finding coins in houses. There are many old traditions of the usage of coins for good luck. For example it has always been considered good luck to place a coin under a new slab of concrete. Hiding a coin somewhere in a house you live in was supposed to mean you'll live there for along time or forever. Coins have been used as jewlery for numerous reasons besides just looks. For example some of the first so called Copper Jewlery to stop pains were made with coins. Or a Copper coin embedded in a bracelet. Placing a coin inbetween tembers in a house assured the builder that that wood would never rot. In other words your finding coins anywhere is normal. It's just odd you find the ones that are worth a lot.
Well the 1877 doesn't appear to be a real coin. Under US Coins you can read my thread on Small Coin. Appears to be some sort of fake. As to the coin here it is just another indian head for the most part. Thank you for the responses.
I work construction and when we built the new basketball arena at the University of Missouri they were preparing the court area to be poured in concrete so they could lay the hardwood flooring down. The day of the pour I went to the benchmark showing the center of the court. I split the plastic and placed a quarter heads up facing the same way the tigers face would be facing, as close to the benchmark as I could. Taped the plastic back up and walked away. I wasn't in to coin collecting back then so it was just a quarter I pulled from my pocket. But everytime I see the Tigers playing at home I think of that coin. Wornslick
finial Many stories~loved them all. Now, are there any Military types here that have stories about what goes into the ball at the top of a flag pole or mast? The "finial" (?) may contain a bullet/grain of salt/coin......or nothing, I've heard. I always hoped for a coin and thank goodness never found myself standing on one as it and everything else slipped beneath the surface.
Can't wait 'till everyone starts tearing up their toilets, chimneys, and everything else in the house to see if there is a penny there... heh.
