For older family members (includes extended family) I recently began giving a
Walking Liberty half dollar, minted the year they were born, as a birth day present. They all have been "tickled pink" with their coin!
Gave a 1894 France "Lucky Angel" 20 Francs coin to a relative who's going to Aviation (flight school) school in the fall. No need to give a history lesson. It was well received. Especially by his mother who understood the symbolic significance. She even cried (in a good way).