Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;yakpoo, post: 1327584, member: 18157&quot;]When I was old enough to sit on the cushioned board the Barber lays across the arms of the barber chair for my 1st &quot;big boy&quot; haircut, I fell in love with Mercury dimes. According to my Mother, it was around 1960 and I was pitching a fit. She tried everything to get me to sit still, but nothing worked...until she gave me a Mercury dime (apparently, small coins weren&#039;t a choking hazard in 1960). She said I was mesmerized by it and sat quietly as the barber proceeded to give me a &quot;butch&quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p>Fast forward twelve (12) years (1972). I had a paper route...and the entire uncirculated Mercury dime collection...except for the 1916d. I had a 1916d, but not uncirculated. I asked Mr. Deitel of the Madison (CT) Coin Store to try an find me one. He said he would try, but it would cost $600 and I should start saving...he didn&#039;t do &quot;lay-aways&quot; on high end coins. </p><p><br /></p><p>The New Haven Register cost 85¢/week. I made 2¢/paper plus a 15¢ tip and the end of the week (if the paper was delivered on time). I saved all year long, cutting grass and delivering papers, and in early Fall, Mr. Deitel said that he had found a coin that met my requirements...but the price was now $800. I told him that I wouldn&#039;t have that much money until Christmas (1973) when I get Christmas tips from my paper customers. He said he couldn&#039;t hold the coin and it was First come, First serve. I think he held the coin for me anyway because it was still available at Christmas.</p><p><br /></p><p>Mr. Deitel drove me over to the Union Trust Bank in Madison with the coin. I had been driving the bank tellers nuts all year long with my stories of the 1916d Mercury dime and they wanted to see it. Mrs. Mueller, the Head teller (and one of my paper route customers) gave me my money, I gave it to Mr. Deitel, and I got my uncirculated 1916d dime. Business at the bank stopped for at least 15 minutes as everyone got a good look at my new dime.</p><p><br /></p><p>Mr. Deitel drove me and my bicycle back home so no harm befell me on the way. I wanted to put it in my blue Whitman folder with the rest of the collection, but my Father insisted I let him hold onto it for me. The dime was blast white with full bell lines. My Father gently wrapped it in tissue paper and aluminum foil and that was the last I saw of it for quite a number of years. At one point, my Sister got a divorce and my ex-Brother-in-Law stole my entire coin collection. By then I had forgotten all about my Father holding my dime (I thought I had it with the rest of my collection...and lost it).</p><p><br /></p><p>When my Father passed in 2005, I was looking through his coins and found a small package with my name on it. I opened it up and there it was, after thirty (30) years...looking the same as it did that day at the Union Trust Bank. Here&#039;s a picture of what my coin looks like, but <b>this isn&#039;t my coin</b>. My coin is in an AirTite (wrapped in aluminum foil) in a safety deposit box in Connecticut.</p><p><br /></p><p>That&#039;s not my &quot;first&quot; coin, but it was my first coin of any consequence. Certainly the one I worked the hardest to obtain!</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv10/Yakpoo/1916-d-obv.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /><img src="http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv10/Yakpoo/1916-d-rev.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in