coin blogger

The Day of Change

2007-10-10T20:52:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, October the 10th, 2007 was a day of many coins. The day was cold and grey, with rainshowers in the forecast. An afternoon in Kent, Ohio with a new friend resulted in the accumulation of some one dozen coins.
The first instance occured at a restaurant named Taco Tonto's. A pair of dimes of no curious characteristics was acquired at this establishment. The coins are representative of the beginning and the end of the 1990's.

The purchase of one March Violets record at $2.14 from Turnup Records in Kent, Ohio, resulted in the acquisition of an array of ten gems, with variable degrees of sparklingness. The eighty-six cents are divided into eight dimes, one nickel, and a penny. This corpus of currency runs the gamut from the commonplace (a 1998 dime) to the mysterious (a dime of indeterminate date.)
The oldest coin dates in 1972 and is notably more dull than the rest, the dates of which flitter about the millenium.

The coins kept coming late into the evening. Another transaction with a vending machine brought two additional coins : a quarter and a nickel.
Both were minted in 2005 and symptomize of a new era of American coinage. The quarter is a part of the United States Mint's 50 State Quarters® Program, bearing symbols of California on it's tail side. A California Condor glides majestically over the Yosemite Valley, headed directly for John Muir, who stands dazed, probably listening to Bread or America. The moment of impact is imminent. There is a very foreboding sense of danger in this image: it is the most suspenseful of coins, akin to John Singleton Copley's Watson and the Shark.

The Nickel likewise, from the 2005 Westward Journey Nickel Series™, features an image of America's West Coast, with the exclamation "Ocean in view! O! The Joy!"

Vending Machine Change

2007-10-07T11:41:00.001-07:00

One Nature Valley oats 'n honey granola bar was purchased from a vending machine on Thursday, October 4th. The cost was seventy cents. A single dollar bill was fed into the appropriate slot of the machine and the buttons "D" and "4" were pressed. At this point, the corresponding gear turned, projecting the product from it's perch, plummeting to the bottom of the machine with all the pageantry one may expect from gravity, that demanding mistress to which all objects are subject.

Meanwhile, hidden behind this automated salesman's dark, opaque exterior, an equation was being processed: one that would determine the difference between one-hundred and seventy. Thirty was the solution. Hence, two coins, one representing twenty-five and the other, five, were procured and dropped into the change pod.

The two coins have some similarities. Both feature portraits of revolutionaries in profile wearing powdered wigs; both are round and metallic in luster; both are inscribed with similar proclamations; both show national landmarks of the United States. However, these coins are not without their differences. The five cent piece, dated 1997, was minted nine years prior to the twenty-five cent piece. This older coin features an image of Monticello, the home both designed and lived in by Thomas Jefferson, the man whose portrait is on its head side, while the 2006 coin shows an image of a mountain in Colorado, which has nothing to do with George Washington, the man on its head side. The circumference of the Jefferson coin is smooth to the touch, while the Washington coin has a ribbed edge. Verily, it would be inaccurate to state that all coins are the same, as this pair illustrates so conclusively.

Two Cents from the Mid-1990's

2007-10-04T07:06:00.000-07:00

Over the course of one day at Kent State University, two pennies were found in separate locations. The first, a one cent piece minted in 1994, was found face-up early in the morning outside of Smith Hall. The second, a 1995 penny, was found lying atop a table in the student lounge of the School of Library and Information Science in the hours of the mid-afternoon. Like all discarded coins, the conditions of their loss remain open to speculation.

Two Cents

2007-09-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

The ravages of time are made manifest in this pair of pennies from the United States Post Office, Poland, Ohio. One letter, a scholarship application consisting of five printed pages, was sent a distance of some forty miles for the price of fifty-eight cents. Fourteen years of time separate these coins, as evidenced by their given dates, if not by the difference in their relative condition.

Blackened Nickel

2007-09-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

The purchase of one order of tofu stir fry with Thai peanut sauce from Jump Asian Express resulted in the acquisition of this strange exemplar of the minter's art. The luster that once sparkled like the idealistic gleam unto Jefferson's eyeball during his lifetime
has been given over completely to oxidation. We can now only imagine how this coin shined in brighter days: nineteen hundred and sixty four. That time you know as Camelot; an age of blazing rocketships and mop-topped troubadours regaling screaming, frenzied crowds with clever puns and quaint Liverpudlian accents. Might we see in this tarnished nickel an especially poignant commentary on the loss of our national innocence in the years that followed that once silver epoch?

Chipotle dimes

2007-09-05T04:27:00.000-07:00

The purchase of one vegetable burrito resulted in this most extraordinary series of four shimmering, identical 2007 dimes. Each dime features a portrait of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (in profile-view), the only person in history to be elected to the office of president more than twice, shattering the precedent set by George Washington, first President and the man whose likeness is on the quarter. This remarkable series has all the grace and majesty one might expect from a pack of ceremonial swans set out upon a shimmering silver and black reflecting pond. The craftsmanship is impeccable on each coin, bearing a striking testament to the mastery of the maker of these bits of currency.

Twenty-seven cents from Target

2007-09-03T20:12:00.001-07:00

This selection of coins is 9/31st's of the change given after the purchase of two Balance Bars (flavored chocolate almond and peanut butter) and two bars of Old Spice (scented, rather ambiguously, smooth blast and Pacific surge). The most remarkable coin in this collection is certainly the 1999 one cent piece. This cent features a large spot of oxidation directly over the front portion of Abraham Lincoln's face, as if some irate person had just attempted to pie someone, but that person ducked and President Lincoln, signer of the Emancipation Proclamation bore the brunt of the attack instead, for almost no one in this day and age could conceivably presume to commit such a transgression purposely upon our nation's sixteenth president. This facet of the coin is so overbearing that the untrained eye may not even notice the light, minute scratch on the left side of the coin, just above the word "Liberty." The 1989 penny and the 1974 quarter are preserved quite well and are in fact somewhat inconspicuous, inviting little contemplation, apart from the sort of momentary bewilderment over how many years have passed since each was minted, all the fingers these coins have slipped through, all the products and services bought and sold along the way to the Coinblogger collection.

Speedway penny

2007-08-27T16:02:00.001-07:00

This penny's provenance is traced to the Speedway filling station on Kirk Road in Austintown, OH. However, unlike most change, this coin was not acquired in a cash transaction, as the fuel (87 octane at the price of $2.59US per gallon) was purchased with a credit card. Rather, this penny was found lying at the base of the first pump, an hour and a few minutes after midnight. The 33-year-old penny's aesthetic character is simple and dignified, and it is black as the night on which it was acquired, as mysterious as the conditions of its abandonment. Who can say why a penny is discarded like so much refuse on an otherwise unlittered bed of pavement? The mystery of its origins only underscores the still, arresting, minimalist beauty of this piece of currency.

Giant Eagle change

2007-08-26T13:06:00.000-07:00

This collection of sixty-seven cents (in the form of two quarters, one dime, one nickel, and two pennies) was acquired in a transaction at Giant Eagle, wherein nine dollars and thirty-three cents were exchanged for a box of frozen chocolate pretzels, a package of unsalted sweet potato chips, and a white peach. Some of the coins exhibit unusual surface qualities; the 1991 penny has begun to oxidize and is significantly darkened, while the 1987 quarter has dulled considerably and appears to be coated with a n impenetrable layer of dust. The 2005 nickel included in this collection is notable for its rare and unusual placement of President Thomas Jefferson's portrait. The tail side is also unique, showing a bison rather than Monticello, the home built by and in which Jefferson lived. Around the bison is inscribed "United States of America" and "Five Cents." Below the bison are the words "E Pluribus Unum." Despite these anomalies, however, perhaps what is most fascinating about this set of coins is how relatively close they are in date, separated by a period no more than 18 years at the most. Most of these coins were minted in the 1990's, the only exceptions being the 2005 nickel and the 1987 quarter. Another point of interest surrounding this set of coins is the fact that three of the personages depicted are also on Mount Rushmore: Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, all presidents of the United States. Ironically, The fourth personage, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the man on the 1995 dime, was a relative of the other personage carved into Mount Rushmore, president Theodore Roosevelt.

Lin's Garden quarters

2007-08-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

This series of quarters was acquired from Lin's Garden after the purchase of a dish called the vegetable delight. The head side of each coin features the classic profile view of General George Washington, first President of the United states. Surrounding the portraits, various slogans and bits of information are inscribed, such as "United States of America," "Liberty," "In God We Trust," and "Quarter Dollar." What makes these twenty-five cent pieces so valuable, however, are the engravings on the tail sides. The first quarter shows a team of pioneers rowing a canoe down a river lined with lush trees, with the Gateway Arch in the background. The scene is captioned "Missouri, 1821, Corps of Discovery, 1804 2004, 2003, E. Pluribus Unum." The second quarter features imagery evoking thoughts of Georgia: a banner emblazoned with the words "wisdom, justice, moderation," a peach, some oak leaves, and an outline of the state. The dates 1788 and 1999 appear at the top and bottom of the coin, respectively, under and above the words "Georgia" and "E. Pluribus Unum," respectively.

Winslow's Trilogy

2007-08-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

This trilogy of pennies, dated 2004, 1964, and 1996, were given as change for a vegetable sauté at Winslow's Cafe in the Butler Museum of American Art. The most valuable penny is almost certainly the 2004 piece, covered in a strange white and greenish mold. The 1964 coin is cast with an air of solemnity, having turned a deep, eerie shade of copper while the sculptural features have been smoothed down, due to four decades of handling. Rounding out the trilogy is a 1996 one cent piece, stained subtly with an unidentifiable substance.

2006 penny

2007-08-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

This penny, acquired from Marc's supermarket, is stained by a sunburst patina on the face side. President Lincoln's forehead additionally is stained, giving the appearance of a severe head injury, while a tiny streak juts out from the back of the fallen president (who was also a lawyer)'s head, like a Hari Krishna hairdo. The backside is stained by a few inky splatters.

2007-08-17T07:01:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this blog is to document the numerous rare and valuable coins I collect. There was this dime and it was so old and rare that it was worth $1.9million. Who can say how much any coin is really worth?