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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;lordmarcovan, post: 25848648, member: 10461&quot;]Yesterday was my 48th birthday.</p><p><br /></p><p>No, not my <i>actual</i> birthday, but rather my <i>numismatic</i> birthday.&nbsp; My 48th anniversary as a collector.</p><p><br /></p><p>Tonight at my hotel night auditor job, I came in to find they had put up the Christmas tree in the lobby.&nbsp; The fireplace was lit and the place was looking rather festive, even though the tree won&#039;t be officially lit until after Thanksgiving.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1647820[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>An hour or so into my shift, I had the <b>S_ family</b> from Upstate South Carolina check in.</p><p><br /></p><p>They had two kids with them: <b>Charlotte</b>, age 10, and <b>William</b>, age 12.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ha!&nbsp; <i>Perfect.</i>&nbsp; That fell right into a plan I had prepared...&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>I cleared it with Mom, then walked over to the kids and introduced myself.</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p><i>&quot;Hi, my name is Rob.&nbsp; And I have something for y&#039;all, but first, there&#039;s a little story to go along with it.&quot;</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p></blockquote><p>They sat up on the lobby couch, intrigued.&nbsp; Mom S_ stood nearby, smiling, but obviously wondering where I was going with all this.</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p><i>&quot;So... Charlotte... you&#039;re ten, right?&quot; </i></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>She nodded.</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p><i>&quot;Forty-eight years ago today, it was November 25th, 1976.&nbsp; Back then, I was ten years old, just like you.&nbsp; Thanksgiving fell on that day in 1976.&nbsp; I was visiting my grandmother&#039;s house- she had this really neat, big old house in Atlanta.&nbsp; The adults asked me to set the table for the upcoming dinner.&nbsp; So I did, and while I was rummaging in my grandmother&#039;s silverware drawer, I found a dime.&nbsp; It was a <b>1936</b> <b>silver</b> <b>dime</b>.&nbsp; Forty years old at the time.&nbsp; Since I was only ten, it seemed really ancient to me!&nbsp; <i>Finding that old</i> coin turned me into a coin collector, and I still collect them today.&nbsp; The coin I found was a type of dime they don&#039;t make anymore, called a <b>Winged Liberty</b> dime.&quot;</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p></blockquote><p>To their credit, they followed along and appeared interested.&nbsp; After a tiny pause for dramatic effect, I then reached into my pocket and withdrew two Mercury dimes in printed flips.</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p><i>&quot;Well... I have a dime just like that for each of you.&nbsp; A <b>Winged Liberty</b> dime!&quot;</i></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>Their faces lit up with amazement.&nbsp; Mom, for her part, also looked impressed.</p><p><br /></p><p>I gave Charlotte the older coin, a 1928, and William got a 1938.</p><p><br /></p><p>I went on to explain how they got nicknamed &quot;Mercury&quot; dimes, and how the wings on Lady Liberty&#039;s head stood for freedom of thought.&nbsp; You know, all that stuff.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Bonus:</b> when they brought in the luggage, they had two beautiful King Charles spaniels with them.&nbsp; I gave each dog a doggie biscuit shaped like a gingerbread man.&nbsp; It was hard to capture a clear photo of those pooches since they were wiggling so much, and ballistic with excitement.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1647817[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1647818[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1647819[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>So I got to make everybody’s night.&nbsp; Which made mine.&nbsp; That was fun.&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>By the way, this is a picture of the 1936 dime I found in that silverware drawer 48 years ago.&nbsp; I still have it somewhere.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1647816[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[USER=92655]@Randy Abercrombie[/USER] - because I know you&#039;re really Santa Claus going incognito, and I know you like dogs, I figured you&#039;d enjoy this.&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>I certainly did.&nbsp; These folks are from up in your neck o&#039; the woods.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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