A numismatic related practical joke.
golden
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I went to my first ANA show in 1970 and have been to all since then. In 1990 the ANA was going to be in Seattle. I decided to make it a road trip and see the entire Northwest quadrant of the United States. I spent hours and hours planning my trip and picking out a motel for each night of the trip.
My backdoor neighbor, at that time, was also a coin collector. He and his wife went with me to the 1989 FUN show and they enjoyed our trip. I asked them if they would like to go on the 26 day trip to Seattle. They asked me to give them a figure of how much the motels would cost. Several days later I gave them the figure and they said they would go. My mother also decided to go with us.
The day arrived for the start of our trip and we headed west. I had worked 8 hours that day and got off work at 12:30 PM. We drove until almost dark. I was a lot tougher in those days.
Along the way we stopped at dozens of places including The Badlands, Mount Rushmore, The Little Bighorn and Glacier National Park. Several days later we reached Seattle. The next day we went to the opening day of the ANA. I bought a few things and so did my neighbor. The next day we toured Seattle and then started down the coasts of Washington and Oregon.
A few days later we arrived at our stop for the night. It was The Best Western oceanfront motel in Gold Beach, Oregon. I explained to my neighbors that when the town was first settled, gold that had washed down from the mountains, was found on the beach.
It was early so we walked down to the beach. The way to the beach was along a narrow trail through bushes. We stopped along the way and picked some wild raspberries.
The beach there is not a nice sandy beach but is a rocky beach with a lot of colorful and unusual rocks. We picked up a few small rocks to take home. We enjoyed the nice day and fresh air. It was soon time to go back to the motel to get ready for dinner.
On the way back up the trail I was in the lead. Suddenly a lightbulb turned on in my head. Unknown to my neighbors I had purchased a .53 ounce gold nugget at the show in Seattle. I had to quickly wipe the smile off of my face before they saw it.
They went to their motel room and I went to mine. I waited a few minutes and then quietly went down to the car to get the nugget. I got a paper towel and put water on it, the nugget and my hands. I went to their room and started pounding on the door. When they opened the door I said " I washed the rocks and look at this one. It is gold! ". She bought the story hook, line and sinker but I could tell that he was a little skeptical.
The next morning it was a little foggy and raining a little. It was a good thing that it was raining because I think that she wanted to go prospecting on the beach!
That day we reached the turning around part of our trip in northern California. Along the way home we stopped at Crater Lake, Craters of the Moon, Grand Teton and Yellowstone among dozens of other places. When we got home we had traveled 8544 miles in 13 other states.
A few weeks later my neighbors, two our my cousins, my sister and myself met for dinner at my Moms. After a very nice meal the conversation turned to our trip. By this time everyone there except the neighbors were in on the joke.
My neighbor asked " How much do you think that gold nugget you found is worth?". I told her " Oh, about what I paid for it when I bought it in Seattle ". You could count 1,2,3 before she got it. She got up and came over and started to playfully choke me while everyone roared with laughter. I don't think any of us had ever laughed so hard before or since.
A year and a half later my neighbor passed away only a few days after her 62th birthday. He is now 96 and in fairly good health.
I still have the gold nugget. It is a great souvenir of great times on a great trip.
Comments
What a great story. Having been to many of those places you describe brought back added memories as well.
Great story.
Can we get a pic of the gold nugget?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
That's awesome, to plan a trip like that around the ANA and make so many wonderful memories!! What you didn't know was you actually walked over some real gold nuggets on the beach unaware!!!!!
Right up my alley. Love it
Nice!
Great story... Makes for real memories....I had just moved to Seattle at that time, new job, new home, new state etc....Did not even know the ANA was there that year...
Cheers, RickO
Thanks for sharing that great story! It's good to know there are people out there who are as sick as me!
carolinacollectorcoins.com
Sorry to take so long to answer. We have been without power for 72+ hours. The nugget is in the back of the bank lock box. I will have to get it out one of these days.