A few inexpensive coins, and a very valuable envelope with 3 words on it

airplanenut

When my grandfather passed away in September, he didn't leave behind a lot of "stuff." Ten years ago he moved from the house he'd lived in for 50 years to an apartment, and did a major cleanup in the process. His apartment had the photos, art, and other special things, but not the excess that would clutter it. So there wasn't all that much to divide, and when my parents asked if there was anything specific I'd like, I requested the three things that more than anything else said "my grandparents' house" from my earliest memories until my last visit to my grandfather's apartment: a framed drawing from his den, and decorative stuffed birds--a swan and a loon (cloth, not taxidermy)--which were on the floor and the first thing you saw whenever you walked in their front door.

My parents came out to visit a few weeks ago, and with them came these three items, which immediately became prominent fixtures in my house. They also brought a bag of envelopes of coins, which I never knew about. My grandfather loved history, and as long as they were able, my grandparents took grand trips all over the world. Many of the envelopes were sorted by country, and best I can conjecture, their contents were leftover change from their travels.

One envelope, however, was different. It was set aside for me, with three simple words in my grandfather's distinctive (to me) handwriting. From a numismatic perspective, the coins are common: a Peace dollar and a mix of Kennedy halves in 90% and 40% silver plus clad, and a lone buffalo nickel, which happens (I imagine completely coincidentally) to have been made in my grandfather's birth year and birth city. From a personal perspective, it's a reminder that when coins came to my grandfather's mind, I was who he associated with them. He wasn't a collector by any stretch and there was no thought that he left behind a collection of any sort, but even still, the choicest of what he had gathered over the years were, naturally to him, to go to me. And so I will be the steward of this group, and they will, of course, reside in the envelope made valuable by three handwritten words.

TomB

Terrific post, Jeremy! Your grandparents would be thrilled.

When my grandfather passed, my grandmother went into his top dresser drawer and handed me two coins he had saved forever. One was a 1922 Peace dollar and the other a 1932 WQ. Both were AU and toned, toned, toned with that speckled, brown tannin color from sitting on a pine drawer for decades. This was nearly four decades ago. I still have the coins.

1northcoin

Great post. Thanks for sharing.

DCW

Well written, Jeremy. Brought some feeling to my bones this morning.

WaterSport

Yet another example that if you only collect coins to make money, you are loosing.

WS

Hallco

OAKSTAR

And that's what you call a legacy collection. BRAVO!!

littlebear

Those should be cherished forever! How awesome!

MFeld

Thank you for that, Jeremy. Often, as in this case, coins are only part of a much more meaningful story.

oldabeintx

Thank you for sharing.

BStrauss3

You should get a bunch of airtites and then put the coins and envelope in a Shadow Box just like your photo.

divecchia

Jeremy,

That is a beautiful heartfelt story. Thank you for sharing it.

Donato

Dave99B

That envelope (and coins) would be priceless to me. Absolutely PRICELESS.

Thanks for sharing a bit of your Grandfather with us.

Dave

airplanenut

@BStrauss3 said:
You should get a bunch of airtites and then put the coins and envelope in a Shadow Box just like your photo.

Oh, I like that idea! I like it a lot! That's something I could very easily display. Maybe instead of the Airtites, I could try to find the really thin capsules/containers so the coins wouldn't have to be as spaced out as Airties would require with their extra width relative to the coin diameter.

golden

Thanks for sharing your story.

Namvet69

You were on his mind, that's a beautiful thing. Peace Roy

bakeandshake

that was simply awesome, story and write up

carabonnair

@airplanenut said:

@BStrauss3 said:
You should get a bunch of airtites and then put the coins and envelope in a Shadow Box just like your photo.

Oh, I like that idea! I like it a lot! That's something I could very easily display. Maybe instead of the Airtites, I could try to find the really thin capsules/containers so the coins wouldn't have to be as spaced out as Airties would require with their extra width relative to the coin diameter.

I probably still have Kointains that would fit. PM me and I'll check after the weekend.

cheezhed

I love everything about this post.

NorthStar

What a breath of fresh air in a hobby dominated by grades, stickers and mint products.