Coin Collecting by Loretta

[Editor's Note: This story was written by Loretta]

I was talking to my cousin on the phone today and it reminded me of the different things that happened when I was growing up.

When I was about eight years old, Mom and I decided to save money and walk to town, which was quite a trek. On our journey, I had the habit of looking down toward the ground to see what treasures I could find. One day, there on the ground, was an Indian head nickel! I was so delighted because I had never seen one before. I think that was the start of my coin collection. As the years went by, I’d find old coins and put them away for safe keeping.

When I graduated from High school, I had various jobs but the one I liked the most was cashiering in a small store. There, I could examine all the change and at the end of my shift the owner would let me pick out and exchange some of the old coins. In those early, days people didn’t save old coins like they do today; so it was easier finding them.

As the years went on, I'd save all the silver certificates I could find and by the mid to late sixties, the federal reserve said it would be our last chance to trade silver certificates for silver bars at the Federal Mint. But as usual, I couldn’t find a way to travel to San Francisco; so I still have those certificates. Just my luck.

In the late sixties, I got a job in a large chain market and that was truly the start of my coin collection. From silver dollars to wheat pennies, nothing was too small and as the years progressed, I’d order sets of coins from the Mint: gold as well as silver. I became a bookkeeper and when I’d order change for the stores, I’d go through it and find silver coins. God, I was in heaven.

There was this one person who came into our store to exchange coins for bills. We had a machine that counted coins for the customers use but was broken. So the manager asked me to do it by hand. When I saw the coins, I mentioned to the man about the old coins in his bag but he wasn’t interested. So, I counted out about one hundred dollars worth of coins; about a third of them were old. I bought his change and separated it that same night. That was the high light of my career, finding so much in one day.

I still save coins but when I retired, I lost some interest in it, plus it's a lot harder finding old coins. The advantage of my position is gone forever. The only thing I’m collecting today is dust.

Old US Coins