Featured A Coin...With a Story

Within each of your respective collections, there is undoubtedly coins of great value and beauty. But, I would imagine that everyone of us also has a coin (or coins) that we have acquired over the years (or decades) that have a special story that is worth a greater value to the owner of the coin than it could ever fetch if listed for sale.

I thought it would be fun to share some of those stories...so here is one of mine.

I first began collecting coins when I was in the 6th grade or so, that would have been around 1996. Not long after I started collecting, I found this little coin shop called "Al's Stamps and Coins." It was a smaller shop owned by an older gentleman (Al) who was semi-retired and used the shop to make a little extra money and hang around with his regulars (also older semi-retired guys...and me) and tell crazy old stories. In a lot of ways, it was like a scene from Cheers...except in a coin shop rather than a pub.

Al's shop didn't have the best inventory, and some of them were problem coins (which he sold very cheap), but it was a fun place. It was where the base of many of my sets came from. As a young collector, I tried to collect everything...but my main focuses were Lincoln Cents (like everyone) and Morgan Dollars. By the time I was in the 8th grade or so, I had pieced together a set of Lincoln's minus a couple of the keys. When Christmas rolled around, my parents wanted to help me with one of the key coins so they stopped by Al's.

When Christmas morning came, I went to open my presents. One of them was a small box. I unwrapped it and opened the box and a 2x2 flip fell out and landed on the carpet. Seeing it was a Lincoln, I reached down and picked it up and this is what I found:


I was so excited to read the 1914-D on the package. I just couldn't believe it. I was so excited...I didn't even look at the coin. After a minute or two, I began to calm down and started to examine my new prize in detail. Then all of a sudden, my excitement turned into panic as I looked at the coin...because I saw this:


This wasn't a 1914-D, it was a 1952-D...this must be some terrible mistake I thought. Al wouldn't rip my parents off, this is wrong. I couldn't believe it. I didn't know what to do. My parents standing there so happy to see me excited...I couldn't tell them what it really was...could I. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, my parents just busted up laughing. What I thought was a terrible mistake just turned out to be a cruel joke.

Eventually, they instructed me to look inside the little box and under a piece of paper taped to the top was another 2x2 also taped to the top. Inside that 2x2 I found a real 1914-D...it was heavily worn and had some damage, but it was a real 1914-D.


I still have the mislabeled coin in the 2x2 it came in and I wouldn't sell it if someone offered real 1914-D money. It is a special part of my collection that means a lot to me.

I'm sure others here have similar stories and it would be fun to hear some of them.

 

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Great Story! Very Enjoyable!

 

wow, I probably had close to the same feeling you did. Noticed the date before I finished the story. Uplifted, letdown then redemption. U have cool parents!

 

finally a great thread from rickie the patience was wearing a bit thin

 

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the story. It was quite a panic filled couple of moments...I can tell you. I used to be quite gullible (I'm not sure if I still am).

Anyway, I'd like to hear stories from other members here...I'm sure you guys have some great one's too.

 

The 3 coins that started my whole collection.
I still dont know why I have them, I just remember going to a coin shop with my grandma, and with the help of the owner, picked out 3 coins, and a book (also, Richie, from 1996 - although I was 9 years old, lol).
Those coins are:
1864 Indian Head Cent
1943-S Steel Cent
19435-S War Nickel - which is listed as EF (probably is) for $1.00 (ah how times have changed)
That and the steel cent are still in the original flips. The Indian Head is in a new one.

Also, an 1864 2c Piece that my English teacher (and another teacher pitched in) got for me for my Senior Project in High School (private school, btw). I did it about collecting, and at the end of my project, he presented it to me. It was a great gift, and something he didnt need to do. So I'll always keep that one as well.

All I know is, if I ever have to sell my collection, these 4 coins wont be part of it.

 

I was 10 years old and playing under the deck, probably with mini cars or something, and I found this coin, It is the first push I had into collecting.
another one would be a 1907 H large cent I got from my grandpa. He knew a guy that was employed in the construction end of things, and he was tearing down a buikding, and happened to find a 1907 H large cent in a wall.
(key Canadian cent)
thats quite the story.
and would take more than book value for me to get rid of it

 

Thanks for sharing your story. Many coins do have intrinsic value as yours. A coin passed down or purchased by loved ones maintains special qualities. Those are the coins we should cherish the most.

Again thanks.

Harry

 

Thats a cool story.

 

OK, this has been fun so far...some very nice stories. So, here is another from me. It's not as good as the first one (I think that's the best one I got), but it was heart warming and a nice gift.

Anyway, back in the spring of 1999 I was a freshman in high school. Two years before I had the opportunity to travel to Washington DC on a trip with my middle school. Now, two years later that same school was going back to DC and my sister was part of that trip as a 7th grader. I was invited to go again with that school because of my sister being on the trip and none of the faculty going this time had ever been to DC. So, I happily got to make a second trip.

We visited DC and various places in Virginia for about a week. Early in the trip one place we stopped was Mount Vernon...the home of George Washington. While there, we all stopped by the gift shop to buy a thing or two as a souvenir...I think I bought a T-shirt. My sister has never been someone to really buy much for herself...so she went through the various gift shops during the trip and bought stuff for her friends and family (she probably got 2 or 3 little things for herself the whole week).

Anyway, while at Mount Vernon, she spotted a little glass case in the back full of various coins. She knew I had been collecting for a couple years and wanted to get something for me (I had no idea she was doing it). She knew that my oldest coin was in the 1810s...so she wanted something older than that. So, she spotted an 1769 Irish Half Penny in the case and thought it was perfect. Knowing I didn't have any 18th century coins and that we have a strong Irish background she bought it. I'm sure she paid a bit more for it than it was actually worth since she bought it at a tourist gift shop (she probably knew it too)...but it didn't matter. It as an awesome gift that I really loved. And, to this day I still have it and it's still the oldest non-ancient coin in my collection (my only ancients being 2 very corroded Roman coins).

 

Hmmm. For a minute I was afraid I was going to open this thread and see a roll of walkers laid out on the table. :mouth:

Sorry, had to say it.

 

You see, this one time...just before I started graduate school, I was working at a local US Bank and this lady... :whistle:

 

i was hoping for gold this time? silver will only go so far?

 

Like many, I started collecting when a kid. I dropped it during college and didn't pick it up until a few years ago, when the kids were in their teens.

I have an 1852 Braided Hair Large Cent which is the only remaining coin from "the early days" (1970s). It's XF details, cleaned, net VF.

In some respects, it's the most prized coin in my collection !

 

Here is some paper money my dad had on a pretty bad day...
http://www.cointalk.org/showthread.php?t=10130

 

yeah this reminded me, there are a few other things I wont sell.
a few coins from my grandfathers collection nothing special, but I remember how cool they were when I was a kid.
a Peace dollar, 1911 V nickel, and a dateless SLQ.

 

I have a few similar pieces in my collection as well. A handful of FOB-1 bar tokens my dad gave me from a 101st Airborne base he was at in Vietnam as well as some Japanese paper money that my grandfather acquired while fighting in Guadalcanal.

 

Man, what a story. Heh, can't help but laugh now, what was your reaction when you saw the 1914-D at the bottom of the box?

EDIT: Wait why am I posting in this?

 

For me my most precious coin( not precious in value but in sentiment) is a well worn Queen Victoria English shilling which is dated 1874. My fascination and interest with coin collecting began in the Summer of 1969 when I was eleven years old and living with my late parents in an old house in the English Midlands.
One day after I had come home from school I was investigating a broken floorboard in my bedroom, and under it I found what I believed at the time to be a black metal disc. I took the disc to my mother and she got some metal polish and cleaned it up, she then told me that I had found an old Victorian shilling.
Although I was extremely excited at my chance finding, little did I know that it was going to be the beginning of a life long interest in studying and collecting coins.
It's been a long time since that magical Summers day, but since then I've been collecting coins from all over the World and have amassed a large personal library of books on the subject. My well worn 1874 shilling of Queen Victoria will always take pride of place in my collection alongside my more valuable ones.