My WWII pocket change - The greatest treasure in my collection - Courtesy of PFC N. Sharp

Manorcourtman

I meant to post this on Memorial day but was unable to finish it. This is a short story of the most valuable coins in my collection. They are not big dollar items by any means but have a provenance that is priceless to me.

The coins belonged to my Grandfather, PFC. Nelson Sharp. He was born in 1926 and when he turned 18 he promptly joined the United States Army to fight in WWII. The year was 1944 and he was promptly shipped off to SE Asia to join the battle. He saw duty in the Philippines, Australia and several other Islands in the region. He was hesitant to talk about his time in WWII. War vets are often hesitant to talk about what they saw. War Vets truly know that War is Hell. He served faithfully till the fall of 1945.

My Grandfather was a very humble, hardworking man. He raised a large family and had other relatives living in the household so he had little disposable income for his favorite hobby, coin collecting. He coached youth football and baseball for almost 30 years and was a proud VP of the local UAW at a Ford plant in Ohio. He was part of the Greatest generation this country will ever see in my opinion.
In the fall of 1945 he returned to the US. A couple months later he promptly married his high sweetheart and started his new life as a civilian. His journey back was over 9000 miles. He decided to keep a few coins he rec'd in change while in the war. The coins made the 9000 mile journey in his front pocket. When he got back home he threw in a change jar where they remained for the next 50 years. He knew I collected coins and gave them to me before his passing in 1998. I recently rediscovered them and thought I'd show them off to anyone interested. Here is my WWII pocket change courtesy of PFC. Nelson Sharp. In my family since 1945. Thanks Grandpa. Here are my most valuable coins:

Jacques_Loungecoque

Those coins are absolutely priceless. Thanks for sharing your story. Bless him and every other member of The Greatest Generation.

jesbroken

What a wonderful story and such a precious remembrance. My brother spent all my father's silver coins from WWll but he was only 10 at the time, similar to your fathers, they were the coins he brought home in his pockets after the war. These were great men facing the worst of possible times and we are only here by their service. Congrats to your priceless memorabilia. I so happen to have a 1945 D and 1945 D/D Ten Centavo, yet not with such a wonderful background.
Jim

oldabeintx

My father served in the Pacific in the Navy. I have an Australian crown that he brought back. I had it slabbed in order to preserve it. I included it in a birth date set I assembled for each of my parents.

Husker73

I have coins from my Grandfather(WWWI) and my father from WWWII. My Grandfather carried a 1885O silver dollar in his pocket. It was counter stamped with his initials Oct 11/1918 his dog tag number on the front. On the back was his hometown(Victor Ia) and the letters AEF(American Expeditionary Forces). He brought home some coins but the only one I have is a 1869 5 Franc
My dad was stationed in New Zealand. He brought home a few coins 3 Pence/6 Pence/Schillings/Florin/Half Crown. I am not skilled enough to post photos.

DrBuster

Was he in the 186th Infantry in the army by chance? Sounds exactly like where my grandfather was. He got shot in the Phillipines before they were going to ground Japan if the bombs didn't end it, purple heart and he went home.

He had a bunch of the island coins too, Aus/PH. Always liked looking at them. Only ever got 1 talk about the war from him and that was it.

Connecticoin

Great coins, from a great war veteran. Was he part of MacArthur's army that returned to the Philippines?

Manifest_Destiny

Wow, great story and coins!