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 Replies: 15 / Views: 1,703 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
What coin or design really gets you going? For me, it's the Mercury dime; my Grampa Ploss told me that he remembers when the cafe in Union Station (in Erie, Pennsylvania) served a burger, a cup of coffee, and a slice of pie for a dime. How does that connect to the Merc? Well, you see, my grampa remembers that because it's the meal he had in Union Station just before boarding the train that took him to basic Army training and then across the sea to Okinawa and Nagoya, Japan. The year was 1944, my grandfather was 17 with an altered birth certificate, and the Great War didn't yet have an end in sight. The Gershwins and Cole Porter played from phonographs and telephones were still a novel extravagance. Less than one-quarter of the people in the area owned automobiles, and most of the ones driven were still made by Mr. Henry Ford. There were four movie houses in a six-block radius, one of which was erected by the Warner brothers (of WB fame). Hammermill Paper, the Erie Glass Co., Erie Iron Foundry and Manufacturing, and Koehler Brewery were all still going strong; friends routinely met under the clock at the Boston Store before going out on the town or shopping together upstairs at Woolworth's. In the nearby town of Edinboro, women were newly allowed to be admitted at the Edinboro Normal School, and every Saturday the town square was shut down, roped off, and a large dance with loud music was held. The neighboring towns of Meadville, Corry, Waterford, and McKean were all open farmland. Lincoln, Washington, and Roosevelt had replaced Liberty on much of our coinage, but she remained on the dime, and it was such a dime my grampa spent for that last meal in Union Station. Today, over three-quarters of the people in Erie own cars; the area's three biggest radio stations have taken up residence in the building now known as Boston Store Plaza. Two of the movie houses still stand; the one my grampa called the Majestic has been converted into the live-theatre Erie Playhouse, and the Warner Theatre--once as common as dirt--is now famous nationwide and has housed acts ranging from Bill Cosby to the Barenaked Ladies. The Edinboro Normal School is now Edinboro University, from which I almost graduated. The town square no longer gets shut down every Saturday, but a few times per summer there are festivals reminiscent of those gay dances of old. Every now and again I get a Mercury dime. And when I do, I think about that story of Union Station, and what the town must have looked like as my grampa boarded that train. I can almost smell the factories along the lake and hear the laughter from the Majestic as Charlie Chaplin does his thing. I can see my grampa as a young man looking up at a young woman, her husband already off to war, telling him "That'll be ten cents, please." That is the coin that for me, speaks most loudly to history. What's yours? And what is the story you most closely attach to it? |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
I thoroughly enjoyed reading that  Thank you for sharing  |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
You have a fair turn of prose, there Nina! I enjoyed that!
A lot my time as a less than ten year old, was spent in the East Coast sandstone bushland North of Sydney, where some friends and myself made canoes out of sheet galvanised iron. We raced them in the long ponds of which the local creek was defined. You can get bush fires in that sort of country. The U.S. railroads of the 19th Century imported Australian eucalypt trees to grow hardwood for rail sleepers. These trees are the reason for bush fires in So. Cal.
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Valued Member
United States
243 Posts |
Great story, I would love to hear more from people on this forum.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7840 Posts |
Although it is not a "classic", my most memorable "event" happened when I was in elementary school, in the early 70's. The school had "popcorn days" and the bags were 10 cents each. I usually did not get to participate, and fresh popped popcorn has always, and still is, a weakness of mine. So I sat on several occasions "popcornless", until I found a stash of Kennedy half dollars on the top shelf in the kitchen in a ceramic alphabet block planter that given to my mom for one of us kids birth (I don't remember which). Anyway I was curious and found the "motherload" of Kennedy's and took some for "popcorn money". I was the big kid in class with 10 bags of popcorn for my friends who went without for so long like I did. Boy was I "pop"ular for a couple of days...until my sister brought me a dime for popcorn day. She asked me where I gt the money from and of course "told on me" to out parents. My dad lit my britches up for helping myself to his stash of Kennedy's. To this day, I am not sure if they were silver or not, and it was such a sore subject with my dad that I did not bring up the subject afterwards. He is gone now, but that is one of my most vivid memories of him...and the ceramic planter is still on the top shelf in my mom's kitchen...Kennedy Half Dollar-less. I moved on to "Flintstone" chewable vitamins...that is why my sister says that I am so tall....that's another story. Edited by oih82w8
11/01/2012 11:52 am
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Valued Member
United States
154 Posts |
Thank you so much for the history! I especially love the dance in town square. These stories are why I like coin collecting so much. Thank you again for making our collections richer.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1436 Posts |
What awesome stories  . Although I don't personally have any stories about my collecting, this exact thing is why I love Civil War tokens. The history of the Civil War and the lengths store owners went to be able to do business during that time. They thought "outside the box". In addition, all the different designs on them are wonderful. They were not only "change", but were mini advertisements for the businesses. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1654 Posts |
Thanks! |
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Valued Member
United States
108 Posts |
ninamason and oih82w8 thank you for sharing!!
I got dimes in the 'dime books' as a wee lad from my dad's parents on my birthdays. Looking back, I know they were just dimes, but I find it hard to express just how powerful getting those coins was to me as a boy.
There was something magical about looking forward to a fat birthday card that I just new was full of thirty shiny dimes in a little booklet that were all my own. To this day, I cannot look at a dime and not think about that.
My grandparents were on the other side of the country, and we were poor when I was growing up. Those dimes meant a lot to me, and I wish my grandpaw (we always spelled it that way) was around for me to talk with now that I am an adult. Perhaps in the next world he and I can sit and talk for a bit...
-Jay
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Great story. Makes me remember all sorts of things from back then. I remember lots of things about those good old days and all the things coins were related to too. For example I remember my Dad had a gas station somewhere back in the 40's or 50's. He had a coke machine where you put in a Dime and had to roll the bottle along inbetween to rails to get it out. The manchine was sort of like a chest type. My Dad used to send me to a restaurant to get burgers for everyone and I would get 5/$1 so usually got 10. I used to love looking through all his change every day. So many coins that today just are never in circulation at all. BAck then I never even heard of a Roosevelt dime since there weren't any yet. Wow, were those the good old days. |
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Valued Member
United States
243 Posts |
Two more great stories ohih82w8 and just carl.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
863 Posts |
What great stories. I also love how the stories show the change in the value of the dime
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1839 Posts |
Back around 1971 when I was about 7 or 8 I was playing at neighborhood friend's house. She pulled out a box of junk from a closet for us to rummage through and there were some interesting old coins in the box. One that I came across was an 1829 Capped Bust Half Dime and I'd never seen anything like it before. She could tell I was fascinated by it and said go ahead and keep it. Thinking back now it was in pretty good shape, probably VF, maybe even XF and neither of us had any idea that it had any value. I kept that coin until I was around 16 or 17 and needed gas money one weekend. I sold it along with all of my baseball cards for about $20. Easy come, easy go I guess. But ever since I've been on the hunt for a nice 1829 Half Dime and haven't found one I like as much as that one. At least not one I could afford. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
620 Posts |
One memory I have, was thw summer between 2nd. and 3rd. grade. My Dad (RIP) was building the cafeteria onto the gym building. One Sat. a friend and his father stopped by. I had a new comic book and my friend wanted it. He said he would trade me a very special nickle his granpa gave him for my comic book. I had read it so I traded him. The coin was a liberty nickle and I was hooked for life on old coins. My favorite coin the one design that jumps out at me is the Classic Half dollar series Far as coins minted for cirulation its hard to pick just one. But these are topps on my list Indian Head cents and Nickels no other coins screams American as loud as these two do. And I collect Half Dollars of all types. Just discovered Heraldic Art medals and may have a new addiction, not coins but these are very cool. Many great designs donr very artistic IMHO. I enjoyed your Mercury dime story, thanks for sharing these memories |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
863 Posts |
I love the commemorative half dollars too. I love finding them for spot :)always makes my day
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
I love the stories, but they are more the coins behind the history rather than the history behind the coin.
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Replies: 15 / Views: 1,703 |
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Posted 11/01/2012 05:29 am
