| Author |
 Replies: 27 / Views: 763 |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3020 Posts |
I don't recall seeing a similar topic so I thought it might be interesting. What coin passed down to you do you think has been in your family the longest? Speculation is OK. Mine is this 1835 25c. It came from my grandparents. They did not purchase coins to collect, so what I got was whatever they considered to be important to save. Grandma was the oldest and only had sisters, so she would have gotten the goods. Her father was the only son, and his father was a Civil War veteran born in 1844. Due to the wear I suspect it was pulled from circulation by great-great-grandpa (or his wife?) somewhere in the early 1860s or prior. My brother has an 1804 Half Cent from the same stash, so the circumstances line up.  What's your oldest? |
|
|
|
Moderator
United States
124815 Posts |
Very interesting!  My oldest is the 1922 Peace dollar my grandfather gave to me the Christmas before he passed away. He was born in 1922. His grandmother got it when he was born and gave it to him around the time he graduated high school. Sorry, I do not have a photo. I need to take one some day. |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
10352 Posts |
My grandparents on my mom's side were married in Reno in the 1940s after Grandpa came back from the war. The date of their anniversary was September 22 (9/22) so this souvenir being on a 1922-D Peace dollar seems appropriate. Hard to see in these old photos but the left field has "RENO" engraved and underneath IN GOD is "9-22" According to my Grandpa, they made several of these and gave one to each of my Grandma's 8 sisters and 1 brother (!) and also to my Grandpa's 2 brothers, so theoretically there might be 11 more of these out there, if any survived the last 100 years. Never left the family. My next oldest would probably be some of Dad's coins from the early 1970s.   Longhorn Coins & Exonumia Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
|
Moderator
United States
124815 Posts |
Very nice! |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1849 Posts |
Unfortunately, my original coin collection was stolen during a home break-in around 1987. I had a lot of coins that had been given to me as a kid in the late '60's and early '70's. The one that had been in the family the longest was probably an 1879-CC Morgan dollar in VF-XF condition. My maternal grandmother gave that one to me; she had a small box of coins from her younger years (she was born in 1913), and she let me pick one for my collection. Of course, I picked the Morgan dollar because at that point I didn't have one in my collection, and no coins at all from the Carson City mint, and I only realized later it was a better date/mint combination. Even though I don't need it for my CC-mint type set, I will eventually buy another 1879-CC in similar condition as a remembrance. One of my great-grandmothers (born in 1883) had a small leather pouch with several $1 and $2-1/2 gold pieces in great condition. I always hoped she'd give me one of those, but when she passed in 1972 they went to one of her granddaughters who had them all mounted into jewelry pieces...  |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1008 Posts |
In the early 1940's my Dad got a 1926 Peace dollar and because it was the year of his birth, he carved X's on the obverse and reverse with his pocket knife. Somehow over the years that followed, he managed to hang onto it and it got put in a box of keepsakes and stored away for years. When I got seriously interested in coin collecting in the late 1960's, my Dad got it out and gave it to me and told me about carving the X's on it. I kept it until a couple of years ago when I gave it to my son and passed on the story of the X's. He has promised to pass it on to my 6 year old grandson when he is older and share the story. One interesting note. My Dad was born in 1926. I was born 30 years later in 1956. My son was born 30 years later in 1986 and my grandson was born 30 years later in 2016. So I guess we'll be looking for my great-grandson born in 2046 to get it next! |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3020 Posts |
Some great stories so far. It's funny that two are 1922 Peace dollars. @hokiefan_82, my other grandfather (born 1900) had saved a $5 Indian gold, I saw it once as a kid in my dad's possession, and then it disappeared. No one knows what happened to it. I kind of suspect his second wife but you know how that stuff goes. It sucks that your coins were stolen. I'll add another, which I'm guessing was also saved by the Civil War ancestor. Not as old date-wise as the 1835 25c, but probably saved around the same time. It turned out to be a contemporary counterfeit. I don't know if he knew it was fake and was just pulling it from circulation, or perhaps he saved it because 1861 was the beginning of the war and the year he enlisted (at 17 years old!).  |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1849 Posts |
Quote:In the early 1940's my Dad got a 1926 Peace dollar and because it was the year of his birth @Phil310, that reminded me of a story told by an elderly member of our local coin club a few years ago. He was born in 1928, and passed away about 18 months ago. When he was just a youngster he acquired an uncirculated 1928 Peace dollar. He carried it as a pocket piece for many decades, until it was worn almost smooth. He said that he sort of wished he'd just tucked it away because it would have been worth a fair amount of money if he hadn't worn it out carrying it all those years!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1849 Posts |
@kbbpll, the two coins you shared have such a nice story to go with them, and a very long family history! Something like that I'd treasure more than anything else in my collection! Quote:
It sucks that your coins were stolen. Yes, it took me a long, long time to get over that. In fact, I gave up coin collecting completely for about 12 years after that happened. Monetarily it wasn't a big loss (in fact, the insurance covered most of it), but the sentimental value was something that could never be replaced... Edited by hokiefan_82
05/26/2023 12:45 am
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2779 Posts |
My grandpa's old Whitman books of Lincoln cents and Buffalo nickels. He was a county treasurer starting in the early 1930's, and saw lots of small change. The books are interesting as a sample of what was available in common change at the time. No keys but lots of semi keys, and since he was on the West Coast, lots of the San Francisco dates. "Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
|
|
Moderator
United States
124815 Posts |
Quote:
One interesting note. My Dad was born in 1926. I was born 30 years later in 1956. My son was born 30 years later in 1986 and my grandson was born 30 years later in 2016. So I guess we'll be looking for my great-grandson born in 2046 to get it next! Fascinating! Quote:
...but the sentimental value was something that could never be replaced... Agreed. 
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2973 Posts |
When my mother died in 2020, I inherited this 1899-S Gold Eagle. My paternal grandmother gave it to my father when he graduated from high school in 1939 and he kept it for the rest of his life. (He died in 1999). My grandmother was a librarian in Texas. Her husband was a partial invalid, so he didn't work much. She raised and supported three sons. All three received advanced degrees; two as pastors and one as a medical doctor. Unfortunately, I never asked for the backstory on this coin, how a librarian kept a ten dollar gold coin through the Great Depression to hand down to her oldest son.  Paul Bulgerin
|
|
Moderator
United States
124815 Posts |
Very interesting! |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3020 Posts |
It's interesting how many of these only go back to grandparents, which I suppose makes sense. The great-grandkids perhaps are more inclined to sell them off. I have a personal connection all the way back to the turn of the last century through my grandparents, but my kids never met them. I've told the stories, like how my grandma grew up on a farm with no electricity or running water, and they still plowed with horses, but I get the glazed over "OK, boomer" looks from the kids.
@Paul Bulgerin, my grandfather was also a librarian, for the Chicago Tribune. His predecessor had people mailing him coins from all over the world, and when that man died, the coins kept coming for several years. I think reporters returning from overseas also brought many back. I can tell which ones those were, because they're almost all from the late 1940s. My other grandfather worked for the railroad thru the Depression and it's similarly interesting that he was able to save that missing $5 Indian.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1288 Posts |
I have paternal family that was in Nebraska in the 1870s, post Civil War. The came across an "Obsolete" $1 Omaha note and an old counterfeit $100 Confederate note. The notes were put into a small leather pouch that came along to California in the 1880s. The pouch and pair of notes were passed down and I have the set. So around 140-150 years on these pieces.
My hoard of '82s is up to 241! 218 BC x 1, 118 BC x 3, 18 BC x 1, 82 x 1, 182 x 1, 282 x 2, 382 x 1, 582 x 2, 682 x 1, 782 x 2, 882 x 1, 982 x 4, 1082 x 1 1182 x 8, 1282 x 2, 1382 x 1, 1482 x 6, 1582 x 13, 1682 x 17, 1782 x 60, 1882 x 68, 1982 x 45
|
|
Moderator
United States
124815 Posts |
Quote:
The pouch and pair of notes were passed down and I have the set. So around 140-150 years on these pieces. Impressive!
|
|
Replies: 27 / Views: 763 |
|
Posted 05/25/2023 3:15 pm
