My Dad had a small coin collection when he was older. He never spent any money on such things when we were growing up, although he may have held onto a silver piece or two after they were no long every day coins. He only had one medium size gold coin. He said he had always wanted one for some reason and so he finally got one for himself. My Mom has since sold it all with the exception of a couple of pieces that she shared with David and I because she knew we had spent time with Dad as he shared about whatever his new pieces were. He had also bought, as a novelty of sorts, one of the gold clad Kennedy half dollars that came out one time, for each of his children and grandchildren that were alive at the time. Mom eventually did give those out.
I like neat coins if I come across them and will keep them if I see them, buffalo nickels, wheat pennies, silver dimes or quarters, even silver certificate paper money. I really only have a handful though. I also have one of those packets that has the set of coins that was made in the year I was born. I actually think I got them at an action so many years ago I can't remember for sure ! I do find them fascinating.
Who would spend such a thing? Usually people that steal them and don't really know the difference. I used to find some in change machines when I worked in vending. They would be in breakrooms where people bought snacks and coffee and the such. I would just shake my head and wonder if the person they really belonged too knew they were gone yet.
Those are some nice coins you have there Ms D !
I think that's how you start, for a lot of people. You save special coins/bills that are cool or mean something to you. When I was younger, I remember saving every 50-cent piece that crossed my hands. I used to go into banks and ask for sequential bills for graduation gifts or other monetary gifts. Weird, right? I think your dad did it right. He got the ones that interested him personally, not every coin that came into his vision. I still like the buffalo nickels and wheat pennies. I still get the occasional wheat penny (actually a cent coin, but, have no idea why we call them pennies?)I get them less and less and only got one buffalo nickel in the last couple of years. However, during Covid, I got a lot of cool coins! Go figure! I think people were spending them in case they passes away. Or breaking them out so they didn't have to go to the bank. Wait! Were banks even open? :) Good grief. I forgot (actually will never forget) how dismal life was then. The world seems much brighter now! Yes.
Anyway, that is pretty cool about the Kennedy halves! I think you would like foreign money. They only used to take their own money pre-Euro and I had a shoebox with different monies in it. Some of the Spanish coins and Mexican (I got plenty of those in SA) had gold-rimmed coins. Super beautiful! You didn't want to spend them, but, wanted to keep them. Anyway...
Saving silver and gold is for fun and what I do unless there is a reason, such as putting money aside for leaner days, or the banks shutting down. Kidding, but, you know what I mean. Yes! Proof sets! All the coins for one year. I always loved that idea. The idea is pretty cool for a first birthday.
Bingo! You nailed it. People that steal them or find them and don't have a real interest or know the value of it willing to spend them every day. Anyway, thank you for stopping by, and appreciate the awesome comment!
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When I was a teen and for many years after, our local skating rink would have a constant "special" that you could get in for less money if you paid with a 50 cent piece. Someone somewhere has a mountain of those now for some reason. That was way after they were no longer silver, so I have wondered here and there what the motive was. Maybe by asking for that, they sometimes got older silver ones by default, or maybe they were building a 50 cent clad outhouse or something....LOL One never knows.... right ?
Within a month or two of covid, I no longer paid anything with real money unless I absolutely had too. I didn't really want anyone handing me change back after handling money of hundreds of other folks. I kept all the coins I did get during that time, but it barely fills the bottom of a glass half gallon apple juice jar. I didn't know if coins would disappear altogether at some point, so that is what I did.
You made me curious why we might call pennies... pennies. I knew why I did, it's because that's what my parents said they were ! LOL.... but on quick glance, it seems like some think it had something to do with us being under the British pound sterling system in the beginning of our country and there being 100 pence in a pound. I also didn't know that "pence" was the plural instead of pennies at the time. That was about all the research I did in 2 minutes...LOL....it's the British's fault ! .. or it may just be a theory.
I never wondered about that before.
It has everything to do with the British, but, we were pushing all things British out of our system. Even Pounds and Ounces - gallons, miles. We tried to run as hard and fast from them as we could. So why steal their penny? LOL
I used to get 50-cent pieces from the banks if they had any in their drawers or grocery store if they had one in their drawer.
You are right, during Covid, I never paid in cash ever - and to be honest, most stores didn't take cash. Some of the stores here still don't take cash. Actually quite a few.
Back to the fifty-cent pieces... Now I have a bunch of them, but, they were pretty cool, so I still will pick one up if I see one. Alas, few carry cash! I bet they are building that special outhouse!