Good deeds never go unpunished

BryceM

I got called to see a kid in the ER with a broken arm about a week ago. He's 11 or 12 and broke it at school. It turns out the kid's name is Ike. During our interaction I asked him if he has ever seen an Ike Dollar. He had not, and I promised to show him one when came back to the office. After all, every kid named Ike needs an Ike dollar, n'est-ce pas?

I went home and picked out a nice bicentennial MS64ish example from a couple of rolls I had put together from a mint bag. I put it ever so carefully into an Air-Tite and showed it to him when he came back for x-rays today. I explained how it was uncirculated and showed him the luster and various design details. I then tell him that it's his to keep. His mom takes a look, gives it back to him, he isn't paying attention and knocks it out of her hand. It bounces off the wall and the floor and ends up in a corner with a cracked capsule. The two year-old brother picks it up, bangs it off of a the table a few times and then gives it back to Ike. Ike says "uhhh", and pops it in his pocket. This all takes place within the first 10 seconds of ownership. Within the next 24 hours this coin will without question leave the realm of BU and be well on it's way to "tooled, rims filed, bent, holed, whizzed, and artificially colored".

I suppose the lesson here is to give dog-chewed coins to people who aren't likely to appreciate the difference.

LOL.

STONE

Yeh, I would have just given it to him raw!

crypto79

<< <i>I got called to see a kid in the ER with a broken arm about a week ago. He's 11 or 12 and broke it at school. It turns out the kid's name is Ike. During our interaction I asked him if he has ever seen an Ike Dollar. He had not, and I promised to show him one when came back to the office. After all, every kid named Ike needs an Ike dollar, n'est-ce pas?

I went home and picked out a nice bicentennial MS64ish example from a couple of rolls I had put together from a mint bag. I put it ever so carefully into an Air-Tite and showed it to him when he came back for x-rays today. I explained how it was uncirculated and showed him the luster and various design details. I then tell him that it's his to keep. His mom takes a look, gives it back to him, he isn't paying attention and knocks it out of her hand. It bounces off the wall and the floor and ends up in a corner with a cracked capsule. The two year-old brother picks it up, bangs it off of a the table a few times and then gives it back to Ike. Ike says "uhhh", and pops it in his pocket. This all takes place within the first 10 seconds of ownership. Within the next 24 hours this coin will without question leave the realm of BU and be well on it's way to "tooled, rims filed, bent, holed, whizzed, and artificially colored".

I suppose the lesson here is to give dog-chewed coins to people who aren't likely to appreciate the difference.

LOL. >>



I gave all the kids I know (4) a state quarter book and a bank roll of quarter and told them the first to finish it gets a ASE. Well a 10 year old won the ASE and sold it for 3$ at school. The other kids mom call my nephew's mom up and wanted the 3$ back and was mad because of it he had been without lunch saying she filled a complaint at the school. I am not quite sure who to be the most disappointed in.

Unknown

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lkeigwin

Both great stories! Funny and sad.
Lance.

AnkurJ

I keep a few dozen are lower grade Indian cents and buffalo nickels in my bag when I visit local shows. Whenever I see a kid walking around, I give them one and say "Happy Collecting!" Hopefully it sparks something in one of them.

amwldcoin

Now that is funny!

I remeber when I tried to get my twin boys interested in coins. I gave them a couple of whitman folders and tons of pennies to sort through. One od my boys wanted ugly corroded coins. I asked and he just said that's what I want. Never did spark an interest other than what they could drop in the candy or soda machine.

keyman64

Ugh

LanceNewmanOCC

<< <i>I keep a few dozen are lower grade Indian cents and buffalo nickels in my bag when I visit local shows. Whenever I see a kid walking around, I give them one and say "Happy Collecting!" Hopefully it sparks something in one of them. >>



i hope it really inspires them to have the desire to research and understand things around them that usually go unnoticed.

something i wanted to do more of as a youth but never could stay on track long enough to make any of it worth while. the most i really did was trade/buy/sell sports cards as a teen and pre-teen but the hormones took over shortly after. - also contributing to my eventual purchase of cards with, umm, woman on them and not much else

one of the owners or possibly sole owner was a little person and to me he was one of the biggest in the world during that time. what a character.

so i hope like you do, that spark will stay lit and glow brighter later on.
.

ElKevvo

Sure now he does not value it...but maybe in a few years he will run across it in his drawer and wonder about it, do some research online and get interested. Sometimes it takes a while for the seed of curiosity to sprout!

K

RYK

Hmmm… I thought you were going to say that they stiffed you on the bill. Maybe they still will.

AuroraBorealis

Was a very nice gesture none the less... Next kid might go with more appreciation around the room... Hope that the next kids name isn`t Bingham though...

AB

BryceM

Oh don't worry about that. This one is probably on all of us.

..... and I don't accept patients named Stella.

AUandAG

I'm surprised they didn't go to the front desk and put that dollar on their bill.

bob

pocketpiececommems

or he could have put it in a Coin Star machine and left it in the return. Some people just don't appreciate it when you try to do something nice for them.

pennyannie

<< <i>I'm surprised they didn't go to the front desk and put that dollar on their bill.

bob >>



Never seen a cash register in the ER yet.

Tookybandit

Those stories are great!

jdimmick

I have learned that people that don't have an intrest in coins, never will and could care less about taking care of something you give them. I had so many coins I gave too folks, only for them to take across town to see what they could sell it for.

LotsoLuck

"I have learned that people that don't have an intrest in coins, never will and could care less about taking care of something you give them"

That's a fact.

AUandAG

<< <i>

<< <i>I'm surprised they didn't go to the front desk and put that dollar on their bill.

bob >>



Never seen a cash register in the ER yet.
>>




Well, we sure have them here! I'm surprised we don't have to give blood, a kidney, and pay in advance
before we see the Triage nurse!

Bochiman

Bryce,

I think that was very nice of you. You went above and beyond. I, personally, without knowing the reaction, would have given him an AU bicentennial Ike (I keep hundreds of Ikes around as well...and like to give them out similar to what you did), just in case.

On a brighter note, not all kids are the same. A 12yo friend of my son's had his birthday last week. I gave him a used Dansco for mercs and a 1945-s (probably cleaned and in VF-XF). His mom texted me tonight and told me he takes it out and looks at it at least 10 times a day since getting it. I told her that I have a roll of mixed dates that he can pick and choose, for silver cost, whenever he wants, to help fill some holes.

Onedollarnohollar

nice story

MGLICKER

The coin may soon need a cast.

Great story!

Justlooking

Yeah, just because we appreciate coins doesn't mean everyone else does. This reminds me of that scene in Blackboard Jungle where the teacher brings in his collection of rare jazz 78s to play for the class. They wind up smashing them up into a million pieces.

Most people just don't know what they're missing.

rec78

In the late 1960's early 1970's my dad had some apartment houses he rented out. For a few years he would give the tenants proof sets for Christmas. Then one day he found the broken plastic cases that they came in in the trash. The dummies did not even try to sell them, they broke out all the coins and spent them! That stopped him from ever giving away another coin to smoeone who does not collect them.

Bob

SaorAlba

<< <i>In the late 1960's early 1970's my dad had some apartment houses he rented out. For a few years he would give the tenants proof sets for Christmas. Then one day he found the broken plastic cases that they came in in the trash. The dummies did not even try to sell them, they broke out all the coins and spent them! That stopped him from ever giving away another coin to smoeone who does not collect them.

Bob >>



No joke, I found a 1962 proof nickel in a roll search the other day - now I know the story of how it made it into circulation.

bestclser1

<< <i>Was a very nice gesture none the less... Next kid might go with more appreciation around the room... Hope that the next kids name isn`t Bingham though...

AB >>

Thats funny!

SkyMan

That was a nice gesture on your part.

CyStater

In a few years I fully expect to see a newbie posting on here discussing that he bought his first coin (an ASE) at school with his lunch money and has been collecting ever since. So you still might have minted a new coin collector, even if it was indirectly.



<< <i>

<< <i>I got called to see a kid in the ER with a broken arm about a week ago. He's 11 or 12 and broke it at school. It turns out the kid's name is Ike. During our interaction I asked him if he has ever seen an Ike Dollar. He had not, and I promised to show him one when came back to the office. After all, every kid named Ike needs an Ike dollar, n'est-ce pas?

I went home and picked out a nice bicentennial MS64ish example from a couple of rolls I had put together from a mint bag. I put it ever so carefully into an Air-Tite and showed it to him when he came back for x-rays today. I explained how it was uncirculated and showed him the luster and various design details. I then tell him that it's his to keep. His mom takes a look, gives it back to him, he isn't paying attention and knocks it out of her hand. It bounces off the wall and the floor and ends up in a corner with a cracked capsule. The two year-old brother picks it up, bangs it off of a the table a few times and then gives it back to Ike. Ike says "uhhh", and pops it in his pocket. This all takes place within the first 10 seconds of ownership. Within the next 24 hours this coin will without question leave the realm of BU and be well on it's way to "tooled, rims filed, bent, holed, whizzed, and artificially colored".

I suppose the lesson here is to give dog-chewed coins to people who aren't likely to appreciate the difference.

LOL. >>



I gave all the kids I know (4) a state quarter book and a bank roll of quarter and told them the first to finish it gets a ASE. Well a 10 year old won the ASE and sold it for 3$ at school. The other kids mom call my nephew's mom up and wanted the 3$ back and was mad because of it he had been without lunch saying she filled a complaint at the school. I am not quite sure who to be the most disappointed in. >>

MFH

Thanks, Bryce, I got my morning chuckle from that !!

You are so right, no good deed goes unpunished. LOL

kimber45ACP

Funny. Good story and thanks for sharing.

BAJJERFAN

<< <i>I got called to see a kid in the ER with a broken arm about a week ago. He's 11 or 12 and broke it at school. It turns out the kid's name is Ike. During our interaction I asked him if he has ever seen an Ike Dollar. He had not, and I promised to show him one when came back to the office. After all, every kid named Ike needs an Ike dollar, n'est-ce pas?

I went home and picked out a nice bicentennial MS64ish example from a couple of rolls I had put together from a mint bag. I put it ever so carefully into an Air-Tite and showed it to him when he came back for x-rays today. I explained how it was uncirculated and showed him the luster and various design details. I then tell him that it's his to keep. His mom takes a look, gives it back to him, he isn't paying attention and knocks it out of her hand. It bounces off the wall and the floor and ends up in a corner with a cracked capsule. The two year-old brother picks it up, bangs it off of a the table a few times and then gives it back to Ike. Ike says "uhhh", and pops it in his pocket. This all takes place within the first 10 seconds of ownership. Within the next 24 hours this coin will without question leave the realm of BU and be well on it's way to "tooled, rims filed, bent, holed, whizzed, and artificially colored".

I suppose the lesson here is to give dog-chewed coins to people who aren't likely to appreciate the difference.

LOL. >>



I'd just give it a free reholder.

BillJones

The average kid does not give a darn about coins. Even the kids who come to the YN programs at the shows are sometimes only there to get freebies. That's why I think that kids should do something to earn the coins they get without paying money for them. That might include reading an essay and taking a quiz, or writing an essay or showing in some way that they are learning something about coins. When you give them something for nothing that is sometimes the value they place on it ... nothing.

nags

<< <i>The average kid does not give a darn about coins. Even the kids who come to the YN programs at the shows are sometimes only there to get freebies. That's why I think that kids should do something to earn the coins they get without paying money for them. That might include reading an essay and taking a quiz, or writing an essay or showing in some way that they are learning something about coins. When you give them something for nothing that is sometimes the value they place on it ... nothing. >>



Very true... It's much easier to foster an interest opposed to creating one.

Lucanus

Bryce, that was a wonderful gesture you made to connect with that boy in the ER. Keep doing good deeds, the next might be a meaningful moment for a youngster. And who knows, maybe create a new coin collector.

Doug

magikbilly

Unfortunate or not, to most kids a lollipop will seem way more fun. There are few though who appreciate - this kid apparently was not one of them
On the other hand, if I just broke my arm I doubt some Ike is gonna do it.
You intent and effort was golden no matter the outcome.
Eric

TwoSides2aCoin

In retrospect, it's too bad you didn't have a "cast counterfeit" in the raw to give him.

nwcoast

It was a very thoughtful and considerate gesture Bryce!
Some kids might have gotten a bigger charge out of it. This one..... Well, he was one of the majority that don't give a hoot!

There's a 'few' out there that might have gotten more out of it...
Maybe next time, you'll run into one of 'them'.


In a slightly similar story from last summer:

There's a grassy island in the middle of our cul d' sac and lots of young neighborhood kids play out there- digging, playing with little dump trucks, even burying stuff for the challenge of finding it later.
Last summer, I snuck out there and burried a handful of old Buffalo nickels in the hopes that it might liven up their treasure hunts. Dated stuff from the teens and twenties. I had really hoped to hear their excited delight in finding these little hidden treasures!
My Son (who's in his 20's) said I was wasting my time and money and that none of them would care or appreciate a 90+ year old coin.
"They'd just spend it" he said..
So, for weeks I'd see the kids out there moving the dirt around, digging, catching bugs, and doing what little kids do.
I'd pop out there once in awhile and ask what they were up to and they'd give me the scoop of whatever little adventure they were embarked on. After several weeks of playtime 'business as usual',
My curiousity finally got the better of me and I started digging around with them a bit and asked if they had ever found anything interesting, any "treasures or valuables?"
"Nope"...... They'd mutter..
They were busy trying to find a doll one of the sisters had hidden.
Finally, I uncovered one of the Buffalos with my shoe tip and pointed it out to one of the little boys and asked him what it was.
"It's just an old nickel, we found a bunch of them out here and I gave em to my little sister... She seems to like them."
I picked it up and pointed out that it was almost a hundred years old! He didn't seem to care in the least.....
My Son was right....
My only hope is that the little girl- the sister, has enough spark and curiousity to appreciate it, and maybe even let her imagination wander into what it might have been like to have lived a hundred years ago....

Keep up the good work Bryce!
Maybe next time....
I'm not giving up yet!!!

highwayman1

Most of the time, coins appeal to only a select group of kids or adults -- usually those who: a) care about the value of things, whether they be baseball cards or comic books; b) are interested in history or money; c) enjoy reading or researching. Just one of those traits can be enough for a person to take an interest in coins.

I'd also point out that most children would be far more excited to be given a world coin. Is there a country they are interested in or national heritage? As a child I thought world coins were far more interesting since they seemed so exotic and interesting. Now I collect US coins pretty much exclusively.