An 84-Year-Old Coin Comes Home

Whenever I do my grocery shopping, I always check the reject tray of the store's Coinstar machine. About half the time I'll find something, but usually nothing of note--just some common foreign stuff or perhaps some LHCs covered in dried glue.

Yesterday when I looked, I could see two coins--a dull quarter and a shiny penny--not too promising. But when I grabbed them and they clinked together, it was a sound I hadn't heard in many years. I instantly knew that the quarter was silver!

I decided to keep myself in suspense. Without looking, I deposited the coins into my pocket. After I got home and had put my groceries away, I put the coins on the table to look. LHC, 2023, check. The quarter was reverse up. I immediately noticed a mint mark. How could this get any better, I thought. It quickly did--it was an "S"! I live in the northeast, and back in the day when they were minting "S" coins for circulation, they were as scarce as the proverbial hen's teeth, to say nothing of how rare it would be to find one today.

Based on the wear, I estimated the date to be late-1930s/early-1940s. I flipped the coin over, and BOOM--1940! Wow!

Thanks for coming into my life, my friend. You're more than welcome to make yourself at home. And I'm sure you could tell a bunch of amazing stories.