Post Your Most Sentimental Coin/Numismatic Item!

I had posted this a few years ago....but since you asked, here it is again.

They say every coin or bill has a story to tell. I'd like to tell you the story of this Canadian $100 bill, or at least the end of the story, the part that I know about.

A few years ago I was on a mission trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo. One evening while we were having supper, an old African woman came to the gate because she heard that there were some Canadians staying there. She told the night watchman that she found some old money and wanted to trade or sell it for some "real" money. Realize that in this part of the world there are many scams and schemes to get something for nothing. Once I heard what was going on, I offered to go have a look. After being warned multiple times not to buy it from here, I examined it and confirmed that indeed it was real. I then offered her $80usd, which at the time was the current exchange rate. I asked her where she found it and she told me that she had purchased a pair of pants from a used clothing depot and she found the bill in the pocket! That would be equal to 3-4 months income. Could you imagine finding 4 months of wages in a pair of old pants. After I gave the old woman her $80 she asked me for bus money! LOL!

So now that you know the end of the story, what do you suppose the first part of the story is?

I have a couple of equally sentimental favorites. Here is one that puts a smile on my face each time. My favorite series is the 5 cent silvers.

I was at an auction in the 80's and new that some very heavy competition would mean that many key 5 cent pieces that I would like to collect would not be mine that day,..or so I thought.

This auction started with the earliest 5 cent pieces. This 1858 was listed as BU ,..with reflective fields. I just loved it and was willing to go deep to get it if necessary. The value climbed right through the BU estimate and my main competition(a bank VP as I found out later) was in the front for all to see. I was completely in the back and very discrete when bidding. I felt that this coin was easily worth $100 more than the going estimate back then. He couldn't see 'who or where' the back bids were coming from and felt that it was a scam orchestrated by the auction house to fleece him. He yelled and started screaming at the auctioneer and got up and left in a huff. I paid a bit more for that one,.. and got all of the rest at a bargain or doable price that day.

Who would have known that he would react that way..? He made my day,..that's for sure...

That 49 is "very nice" indeed,...but I want to see the 48 that made it into his worn set. Anyone here have a pic of the 1948 worn dollar in that set..?

I don't have a picture at the moment, but picture a proof set in the plio and you pretty much have it. My father and I weren't particularly close, but we didn't hate each other either. He passed away early in 2005 and I will always feel as though there were things we should have said, but didn't. My mother passed away in 2011, and I was the one who was tasked with going through the things in the bedroom at their cottage. In the drawer beside my dad's side of the bed, there was an envelope with my name on it and the date "Sept/68" which I assume is when he bought the set. It isn't a fancy set in the box or anything but still, to know my dad had bought a set to celebrate my birth, and finding it some 43 years later.....well, I don't think I will ever feel as emotional about a coin again.

Without question mine is a 1939 silver dollar. My grandfather had Alzheimer's, and I would show him my coin collection to see if I could get him to remember anything. Most of the time he would politely nod without saying anything, but when I brought out the 1939, his eyes lit up, and he began to describe how big a celebration the Royal Visit was at the time.

The next time my grandpa visited, he couldn't remember anything, even my name, but when I showed him the 1939, he told me "you showed me this last time I was here". It's one of the last memories I have of my grandpa, and I always think of him every time I look at a 1939 silver dollar.