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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,643 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
592 Posts |
Hi everybody.
So I'm reading Octavia Butler's Kindred this summer in preparation for a course I'm teaching, and I was struck by a moment early on in the novel.
For those unfamiliar with the story, Dana is our protagonist, a young black woman married to a white man (Kevin) who lives in California in 1976. Her ancestor, a young boy named Rufus, sees her when he fears for his life and is able to summon her into his time (the early 19th century (the scene in question occurs in 1815). His family runs a small plantation and owns several slaves, and a young freegirl named Alice from nearby is another of Dana's ancestors. Compelled by compassion and her desire to ensure her own eventual birth, Dana does whatever she can to help keep both Rufus and Alice safe, and to try to put some compassion in Rufus's head so the lot of the slaves who will be in his care can be improved.
Anyway, one day Rufus (age 12 or so) breaks his leg and he summons Dana to him, and along with her comes Kevin (he was holding onto her when it happened). Rufus has trouble with the idea that they're married, and they try to explain to him that they're from the future - a future where it's possible for such a thing to happen. One of the things they do is show him some coins, including a bicentennial quarter as proof that they're from 1976.
So, a question for the rest of you. What novels, poems, short stories, plays, what have you have you read where coins had a significant role at any point? What role did the coins play? Tell us about it.
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Valued Member
United States
309 Posts |
I remember an Ellery Queen story written back about 1943 that takes place in the American West with a locker that held a stack of 50 old silver dollars. The story later revealed they were from Carson City and were all dated 1873. That year only 2300 were minted so the stack had numismatic value which might have been motive for murder by a person who knew something about numismatics.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11951 Posts |
"Somewhere in time" I have not read the novel. Was made into a movie, starring Christopher Reeve (1980) From what I remember, the main character is given a watch by a older lady .. and she tells him to come back to her. Years pass .. he figures out who the old lady was. He wills himself back to 1911 to be with her. Towards the end of story he is with the lady he went back to find. He is showing off his vintage suit and pulls out a modern Lincoln Cent .. when he see the date on the cent ... he pulled back to his time ... |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2637 Posts |
I remember a Mission Impossible where as part of the con/mission they were reproducing an earlier time (maybe WWII), and one of the MI agents drops a Kennedy half dollar. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
17897 Posts |
I can't remember the name of the book or the author, but sometime in the 1990s I read a thriller in which a terrorist always leaves a Coke Can full of Lincoln Head pennies at the scene of each of his attacks. I remember being puzzled at why the book stressed that they were Lincoln Head pennies, when surely 99.9% of all US pennies in circulation would have been of that type!
In Jeffrey Archer's novel "A Matter of Honour" there is a scene set in the 1960s when someone puts a 2-franc coin in a French car park pay machine - but no coin of that denomination was in circulation at the time!
Edited by NumisRob
07/12/2015 2:40 pm
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5828 Posts |
"Double Eagle" is a book about a couple of kids who move live in florida who find confederate doubled eagles. Pretty good book, but its a quick and easy read. Only like 200 pages.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Sort of on topic - I was watching some sort of (fairly recent) time-travel movie last week (can't remember title!) and the setting is a bar/dance hall in 1925. The producer went to all this trouble to create the atmosphere, and then the hero pays the bartender with small-size notes!
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Moderator
 United States
187702 Posts |
Quote:
"Somewhere in time" I have not read the novel. I was going to mention this.  I actually have it in paperback. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
513 Posts |
"The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby"--of course, that can't refer to coins, because the spelling is "nickle" and not "nickel" (reference to another thread)
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Valued Member
United States
211 Posts |
Sing a song of sixpence
A pocket full of rye
Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie
I don't know the rest.
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Moderator
United States
187702 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Talking about a movie here, hope this is not off-topic, but for a really super movie about numismatics (in this case paper money), see John C. Reilly's "Criminal" (2004) - you will love it.  |
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,643 |
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Posted 07/11/2015 11:11 pm
