Looking back to 14 months ago.

I found this old entry in another online journal I keep and thought it was worth revisiting. This was written only about 2 weeks after I started collecting, about 14 months ago, and the intended readers were non-collectors.

"22 Mercury Dimes:

Well, I still can't believe it. I was in a gas station convenience store and the guy in front of me paid for his 2 beers with 22 Mercury (1916-1945) dimes and 6 old Roosevelt dimes from the 40's and 50's. Now, what's the importance of this you ask? The Mercury Dimes, and the older Roosevelts are all 90% Silver, 10% Copper. They are honest to god SILVER dimes, at least 62 years old in the case of the Mercury's. The guy left the dimes and left before the clerk even looked at them. The clerk was shocked; she didn't even know what they were. I stepped up and told her that if she'd give me the 28 old dimes and 2 more from the register then I'd give her 3 1 dollar bills. This meant that she didn't have to explain these "strange" coins to her boss so she was more than agreeable. Now, what do I get out of this? I promise you those coins are worth more than 10 cents for 1 thing. For another, I just love old coins. win-win.

It occured to me about 5 minutes after I obtained them that these may have been stolen from some collector. Again, that's a strong maybe. It does emphasize an sad truth to coin collecting. People steal old coin collections, don't know what they have and the coins are spent just like "normal" money, without regard to the age or relative value of the coins. The other, legal, end of this equation is that people inherit old coin collections or hoards and, unlike the deceased family member, they don't attach meaning or value to them; so the coins are just spent.

Either way, it just kinda makes you sad."

2 weeks prior to this I would have been just as confused as the clerk as to what these coins were. The previous week my grandmother had pulled out and shown me Granddad's old stuff and there were about a dozen mercs. I decided to research what those strange dimes were. That's the only reason I knew what I was looking at at the gas station.