Sometimes it's not really about the coin.

Half a century ago, a young boy who was utterly obsessed with Matchbox cars was playing Civil Engineer in his steep front yard. He had the full complement of Matchbox construction equipment, and got such use out of the Matchbox front-end loader that he literally wore the paint off the underside (it was a true giggle moment years later when I...um, he...got to earn his living running a real one). The slope of the yard looked like the cross-section of an anthill, honeycombed with roads, parking lots and construction excavations.

During a new road project, a massive (to scale) object was unearthed. It turned out to be an 1861 Indian Head Cent, laying buried for who knows how many years (the house itself only dated to 1925 although the neighborhood was much older). That coin instantly became the owner's most prized treasure, and entire fantasies were created from scratch to explain the coin's presence and history. But kids are kids, and at some point the coin ceased to be an obsession, and eventually disappeared from the scene in some fashion, never to be seen again.

Fast forward fifty years, and that budding road constructor is now directing his obsession-oriented nature towards coins. One of my purposes in attending the Baltimore show yesterday was to try and duplicate that coin from long in my past, thereby connecting where I am with where I was. The moment I saw the coin I bought, I knew it was the right one. It looked like it had spent a period of its' own in the ground while retaining an acceptable level of wear, still having a full readable LIBERTY. It - given a little imagination - could very easily have been the same coin which planted the love of numismatics in my mind all those years ago. I will never not believe that to be possible - all things are "possible" when belief is the driving force. As long as it's "possible," that's enough for me.

Did I overpay for it? Maybe a little, although the seller (Coins of Merritt) treated me well on a package deal and deserves a public callout. Do I care? Not at all. My reasons for buying the coin - and my valuation of it - have nothing whatsoever to do with anyone else's opinion of its' monetary worth. "Value" isn't always measured dollars and cents; it's not always about the coin.

 

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@SuperDave

Umm........What happened to the little boy and his Matchbox cars?

Chris

 

Nice pick up and an even nicer story thanks for sharing .

 

It was always our family tradition to put a silver dime in the cabbage during our new year dinner. One year, circa 1983, I was the lucky one to receive what was a 1943 Mercury dime. It was supposed to symbolize that I would have good luck with wealth that year. The irony is that it started my love of numismatics and has eaten away at a small fortune over the years. But to this day, and although the rest of my Mercury Dansco is uncirculated, that beautiful cleaned XF 1943 remains. That is always the first coin that I look at when I crack that album open and I suspect that it will always be.

 

I still have some of my matchboxes. Though my parents long ago (unknown to me) threw away most of my larger matchbox vehicles all in their boxes.

When I was young I dug up a 1925 Mercury dime in my parents yard as we were getting ready to put in a fence. I still have it - see my Avatar.

 

He's still among us, although a tad bit older.

Poignant Peek Dave...........

 

Well I guess the Rolling Stones were wrong. Nice story dave. Good thing you found that indian or you may have become a rock hound and would be posting on gem & mineral forums today

 

The best date out of all the Cu-Ni Indians and you didn't even need a metal detector. You found it through pure luck. Wow.

 

That defines how close we are to other hobby's........given another happenstance and Dave wouldn't be communicating with us at all........

 

You adopted.

Coincidently, one of our 1859s is dark-crusted just like that. Ours is a lower grade. So that's years of corrosion in the soil, huh? If you dug up one like that, I reckon it is.

 

Well, a fifty-year-old memory is practically a made-up story, you know? I won't testify to my memory of what the coin I dug actually looked like. This one here is what I *decided* it looked like.

For coins like ours, the most likely explanation of the corrosion is, um, ground engagement. Differing soils impart a completely different look to the coin and this is a plausible explanation to me.

Aaaand, an interesting idea for a collection is born. "Ground Engaged IHC's."

Do you describe yours as "ours" because it's held by your business, or because it's in a joint collection?

 

My little brat a me (affectionately-speaking; um, of course).

 

Ah. You ain't giving that one up, then.

 

Getting the coin brang back childhood memories sounds like a dream came true it will be neat everything you see it have a nice day .

 

You know it.

 

Great read Dave. My story is similar although I was only nearby when my passion coin was un-earthed. Luckily, I still possess that exact coin because it would be impossible to find a replacement. This very coin lead me to CCF via an internet search and that lead me to here. Mine is this contemporary counterfeit 1822 Large Cent. Thank you for the reminder.

 

neat item

 

Hey, that's not a morgan dave. I was sure your first coin was an 83o

 

Neat story, Dave. Merritt's table(s) were next to mine at our local show yesterday.
He's a nice guy.