Share your favorite family heirloom / inherited coin!

mattniss

My paternal grandfather was my first and biggest influence to getting me deeply integrated into numismatics as a personal hobby. He loved fresh red cents, and would seemingly always have some rolls from the bank or smaller bags for us to look through when I was really young (early elementary school ages). We pulled a few solid coins over those years from both circulation and from his "hoard", including a few blazing 1909 VDB's that we sold together to help fill some of my early Whitman folder slots with lower grade semi-key dates. Ah, the memories of a very YN!

On one visit when I was about 7 or 8, he pulled out a date I had never seen in person before -- a 1931-S Lincoln cent that he carefully unfurled from an old handkerchief. I took it home with me for my collection and held onto it in the exact handkerchief he gave to me for many years, even well after his passing in the early 2000's. I eventually sent it over to our hosts for grading about 2 years ago or so, and it came back MS62BN. I still have the handkerchief as well!

So that's my family heirloom coin with all the sentimentality, which now lives in my forever collection unless my son or daughter end up sharing my same passions as they grow older.

So, what's yours? Excited for all the shares and stories.

OAKSTAR

Plus a nice Progressive Indirect Design Transfer. 👍🏻

lkenefic

My sister found this among my mother's things after she passed. Apparently, my paternal grandmother kept this as a remembrance of her relatives that came to this country from Ireland in 1845.

This was from my paternal Great Grandfather on the occasion of his First Communion.. It was my lone piece of gold for a long time...

RiveraFamilyCollect

My dad gave me his 1976 $2 after learning it was only worth $20 instead of the fortune the clickbait article told him it would be worth.

COCollector

My Grandmother got me started on coin collecting. After she passed, I purchased her Morgan dollars from my mother. An "inheritance" of sorts.

Most are circulated common-date Morgans acquired during Las Vegas trips. But one of 'em has interesting features:

Reverse of 1878

VAM 6 "TIUST"

1northcoin

Pictured above is the Ainu Shitoki which I inherited from my Uncle who headed the post World War II U.S. Occupation Efforts in Hokkaido Japan.

A Tamasai is a beaded necklace worn by the Ainu people of Hokkaido Japan on special occasions. In various of their ceremonies it was believed to protect the wearer from evil spirits. When a medallion is attached to the necklace the two together are termed a Shitoki. When the attached medallion is of a white-tailed sea eagle it has even added meaning.

Stationed in Chitose, my uncle Bill headed the occupation efforts in Hokkaido after World War II. The Japanese people there were so appreciative of his kindness and benevolence that when he was transferred out they gave him a special momento.

The gift was a Shitoki Tamasai, a beaded necklace worn by the Ainu people of Hokkaido on special occasions. As noted above, in various of their ceremonies it was believed to protect the wearer.

The Shitoki medallion represents the white-tailed sea eagles that the Ainu hunted. Reportedly the more strands and more beads the more valuable the Tamasai. From the ones I have seen pictured from museums the one given to him appears to be among those so characterized as having more beads and strands. The jade and other beads would have originated from trade with China in past centuries.

The Ainu were an indigenous people of Caucasian ancestry who inhabited Hokkaido before the Japanese expanded northward to Hokkaido. It is believed that they had cultural contact with the Alaska Eskimo (Inupiat) peoples although they are not genetically related. Many of their customs and beliefs do seem to have a commonality. For example, like the sea eagle in Hokkaido, the Raven in Alaska is similarly revered.

Boosibri

may

epc

My family has a tradition of giving new members a gold coin. My brother and I were born long after the gold coin era, and each of us got a 1907 quarter eagle. Mine's in a PCGS MS65 slab. My mom told me hers was from her birth year, 1933. She told me it was fairly large, so I was interested to find out which larger denomination it was! She passed away earlier this year, and I now have her 1934 silver dollar and 1906 quarter eagle, both 'details' coins. Still nice to have.

SanctionII

These two have been with me for about 60 years now.

drwstr123

My wedding gift from my father:

MFeld

Following are the background story and pictures of the 1909-S Saint Gaudens $20 gold piece that's been in my family since 1930...

Famous coin dealer, B. Max Mehl, was my grandmother's uncle. Sadly, I never got to know him, as he passed away when I was only three years old. Still, my grandmother was delighted when she learned that beginning at a young age, I was a serious coin collector. Over the years, I've acquired several Mehl catalogs and checks, as well as a poster, from family and forum members. My most treasured remembrance of him and my grandmother is one I have posted about previously, but will do so again, now.

My grandmother was born in 1909 and when she got married in 1930, B. Max Mehl gave her a gem 1909-S Saint, along with a handwritten note of congratulations, as a wedding gift. The signed note, which contains the name of his wife, Ethel - the same name as that of my grandmother - reads:
“May your life be as bright and full of solid happiness as is the enclosed.
Dec-30-1930“

When I was a teenager, my grandmother promised me that she would give me the coin one day. Fast forward several years, when her son/my uncle informed me he had it and would be giving it to me. He also told me that my grandmother (who had apparently forgotten her promise to me) was about to have the coin made into a necklace. But he convinced her not to do so and to allow him to give it to me. Whew!

For many years, I have had the coin in an NGC holder, with a label which includes my grandmother's name.

Hopefully, it goes without saying, that I will always treasure it and the handwritten note of congratulations to my grandmother, which accompanies it.

shish

Shortly after we lost my dad last year I saw this trade dollar with my mom's initials and purchased it in honor of him. She loved it.

joeykoins

Great Thread!
I told my story, many times.
My father self engraved all his children's name/birth dates on either a Morgan Dollar or Peace Dollar when we were born. Counting myself, my parents had 5 kids!
Here are 3 PCGS Certified Dollars that I requested PCGS to holder with the title, "Dad's Dollar"
on it.
The other 2, my siblings still have raw. Waiting to send those in as well.
Here are the 3 I sent in.
Brother, Jeff.


_
Sister, Gina.



Myself, Joe

_

joeykoins

Delete

mattniss

Thanks to everyone for sharing their stories and the special pieces that came with them. Hope to keep this thread alive!

MapsOnFire

Given to me by my mother's Aunt Louise Marcus Evenden about 1965. The coin had been in her family since before the year 1900. It is one of very few early dollars, that I have seen, that were never cleaned.

RobertScotLover

The above 1894 $10 was in my family since it was pulled out of circulation in Germany in the 1890's. My father who was born in 1912 took it out of Germany when he fled with his mother & brother in 1938. Nothing of value was allowed to be taken out of the country, so he hide this piece on his person along with 1 or 2 other low denom German gold pieces as well as making a couple of German gold coins into cufflinks. He gave me all prior to his passing. I thought the 1894 was worthy of sending to PCGS when I started collecting in and around 2005ish. I dig the copper toning spot on the reverse and since he also was a U.S. coin collector he knew better than cleaning his coins so it was stored in a cloth handkerchief for many years. Today it resides in my collection in a PCGS holder.

RobertScotLover

And what an absolutely magnificent coin along with an equally incredible back story and pedigree.

steve_richardson

This Peace is one of my favorites that I inherited from my maternal grandfather, who got me interested in collecting.

MojaveGhost

It's difficult to choose a favorite, but probably these Morgan key chains because my relatives carried them every day.

BustDMs

Not as interesting or as valuable as Mr. Felds double Eagle but meaningful to me.

Mr_Spud

This one has been in Mrs_Spuds family since when someone in her family pulled it out of circulation in the 1800s. We ended up with it when her grandmother passed. I got it slabbed to preserve it and to honor it as an heirloom even though I knew it would get a details grade because of the scratches/graffiti

fishteeth

Reading this post just made me remember this coin

My grandfather picked this half dollar up in San Francisco before shipping out to the South Pacific. He was so afraid of being killed and never identified that during the crossing to new Zealand he turned this half dollar into a second dog tag to carry in his pants pocket. He carried through the war including landing on Guadalcanal and pelilu etc. I really like that it has some salt water corrosion. When he gave to me 30 yrs ago it came with his real tags and his sunglasses he wore and a lot of stories

The_Dinosaur_Man

When my dad was a youngster, he found an 1831 Large Cent in the ruins of an old hotel. He held onto the coin until years later when I began collecting and passed it on to me.

In 2020, I picked up nine more 1831 Large Cents to be given as Christmas gifts to each of my siblings. When everyone was gathered that evening, I handed my dad the original 1831 that he had found and he recounted the story of how he came across that coin.

MFeld

@BustDMs said:

Not as interesting or as valuable as Mr. Felds double Eagle but meaningful to me.

I think meaningfulness is what this thread’s about, with value merely being an afterthought.

may

@Ownerofawheatiehorde said:

I ought to give the story on this coin.
My great-grandfather found it in a flowerbed when he was a kid during the 20’s, where he then used it as a pocket piece and a good luck charm for his hunting trips. When he died, it got passed down through the family until it reached me.