A trip back in time

My grandfather was a coin collector and a stamp collector. I have no idea what is in the coin collection that I've inherited so, last night, I started looking and organizing. I spent a number of hours going through one bag of loose coins: sorting, listening and smelling.

It brought back memories of Grandpa: being at his house and playing with some of the coins he had in a small, pink plastic piggy bank. I'd go through that piggy bank each time I was at my grandparents' house.

Why?

I don't know. Maybe I liked the smell of the copper pennies. Maybe I liked checking the dates on the various coin. I know I enjoyed it.

Last night's first baby step into the collection brought some of that back. It was interesting to see when the coins ended. The most recent coins were the Bicentennial issues of the quarters and half dollars. They were issued just shortly before he died.

The oldest coin might be an 1890 Indian head penny. I know there's an 1897 penny for certain.

The fun coins are the silver ones. They sound so different than today's clad coins.

The future holds more nights with the coin collection. I hope to find the 2 1909 "S" VDB pennies that it is rumored are in the collection and are pretty valuable. I know I'll find something more valuable: more memories of Grandpa.