Wednesday, January 19, 2022

My grandfather's coins

At some point before my mother's death, she gave me what she called a billfold, but it seems to me more like a coin purse, that her father carried with him until he died.  Then his wife, my Grandma Stevens, carried it in her purse until she died.  Mother carried on that tradition and kept it in her purse, but gave it to me quite a while before she died.  Now I carry it in my purse, although the billfold/coin purse isn't capable of holding anything now.

Mother taped it together, but tape doesn't last very long.

                              

Next, the note Mother wrote for me on the back of a deposit slip.

A silver dollar, 1921.  We checked; it isn't worth a lot.

A 1902 quarter

                               
These are the three coins that belonged to my grandfather.  The smallest one is a penny, and I can't tell what the date is.


Above is a silver dollar my mother added to the collection.  Actually, she had three of them, identical, and gave them to me.  Last summer when our son was visiting, I got all these coins out to show off.  I gave one silver dollar to him and one to Rachel, our daughter.  Months after that, I happened to recall that Mother got three of them for that very purpose, although at the time my kids were seven and nine years old.  I remember thinking, "What would my little kids want with a silver dollar?"

And that's your story for today.  It's just one more way I honor my ancestors.  These coins are always with me... until I die.  My kids aren't collectors of old things, so I imagine this will be the end of the story.

9 comments:

  1. People change with time. What is important to me now is much different than when I was younger.

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  2. My late husband loved coins but I'm not as interested in them. That reminds me that I need to figure out what to do with his coin collections.

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    1. My parents collected and sealed coins in plastic tubes, and bought yearly proof sets. After they died, my brother randomly split the stash into 3 piles. I went through my stash for anything cutely significant, like birth year coins for my son. I purchased an appraising book about coins to make sure I didn't get ripped off. I took the rest to a store that's been around for years, that buys and sells gold, coins. With some having increased values, I mustered over $800 in cash. Linda in Kansas

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  3. You could see if a good shoe repair place has any suggestions on repairing the wallet. Linda in Kansas

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  4. Yep, my kids aren't collectors of old things either so... lots of my stories will end with me as well. Sad. I loved this story, Donna! ~Andrea xoxo

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  5. I agree with Linda and would try to get that wallet to a leather worker to get it repaired. Interesting coins and story and hope the kids do treasure them and pass them down. Ya never know.

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    1. It's very thin leather, the snap has come off, etc. I don't think it could be fixed. I still carry it, but I put the coins in a different coin-purse. I keep the note my mom wrote in it, though.

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  6. When my Mother died and we were going through all the "stuff" it looked like she owned stock in a tape company. I'd rather have her tape than new leather. As my health deteriorates I can't worry about the way things will be passed down. Thank you for your blog.

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  7. what a sweet story. i'm sure your family is looking down at you from heaven, smiling that you carried on the tradition.

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