Harper Lee RIP, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, Indian-Head Penny magic
WillieBoyd2
Posts: 5,273 ✭✭✭✭✭
News outlets are reporting the death of Harper Lee today.
She was the author of the 1962 book To Kill A Mockingbird.
I like to find literary references to coins in novels or non-fiction books.
Here is one of the more interesting ones.
The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, published in 1960 by
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., became a best-seller and won several literary prizes.
The book mentions Indian-Head pennies early on.
Scout and Jem, two children in Alabama in 1933, find a pair of such pennies and discuss them.
Scout is narrating.
Inside were two scrubbed and polished pennies, one on top of the other.
Jem examined them.
"Indian-heads," he said. "Nineteen-six and Scout, one of 'em's nineteen-hundred.
These are real old."
"Nineteen-hundred," I echoed. "Say---"
"I don't know, Scout. But these are important to somebody...."
"How's that, Jem...?"
"Well, Indian-heads --- well, they come from the Indians.
They're real strong magic, they make you have good luck.
Not like fried chicken when you're not lookin' for it,
but things like long life 'n' good health, 'n' passin' six-weeks test...
these are real valuable to somebody. I'm gonna put 'em in my trunk."
Indian-Head penny 1900
Indian-Head penny 1906
The book was filmed in 1962 with Gregory Peck.
I added film to the "Coins in Movies" section of my website.
The titles are narrated by an adult woman remembering her childhood in early 1930's Alabama.
A pair of hands open a cigar box displaying, among other things,
Indian Head and Lincoln pennies
Two Indian Head pennies and two 1960 Lincoln pennies.
The 1960 pennies and the film's setting in the 1930's are sometimes considered a "goof"
but the adult woman narrating the titles makes it clear that the events in the film occured
a long time ago in her childhood.
She was the author of the 1962 book To Kill A Mockingbird.
I like to find literary references to coins in novels or non-fiction books.
Here is one of the more interesting ones.
The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, published in 1960 by
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., became a best-seller and won several literary prizes.
The book mentions Indian-Head pennies early on.
Scout and Jem, two children in Alabama in 1933, find a pair of such pennies and discuss them.
Scout is narrating.
Inside were two scrubbed and polished pennies, one on top of the other.
Jem examined them.
"Indian-heads," he said. "Nineteen-six and Scout, one of 'em's nineteen-hundred.
These are real old."
"Nineteen-hundred," I echoed. "Say---"
"I don't know, Scout. But these are important to somebody...."
"How's that, Jem...?"
"Well, Indian-heads --- well, they come from the Indians.
They're real strong magic, they make you have good luck.
Not like fried chicken when you're not lookin' for it,
but things like long life 'n' good health, 'n' passin' six-weeks test...
these are real valuable to somebody. I'm gonna put 'em in my trunk."
Indian-Head penny 1900
Indian-Head penny 1906
The book was filmed in 1962 with Gregory Peck.
I added film to the "Coins in Movies" section of my website.
The titles are narrated by an adult woman remembering her childhood in early 1930's Alabama.
A pair of hands open a cigar box displaying, among other things,
Indian Head and Lincoln pennies
Two Indian Head pennies and two 1960 Lincoln pennies.
The 1960 pennies and the film's setting in the 1930's are sometimes considered a "goof"
but the adult woman narrating the titles makes it clear that the events in the film occured
a long time ago in her childhood.
https://www.brianrxm.com
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TD
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
<< <i>Mary Badham played Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird in 1962. She and another uncredited child actor from the movie, Kim Hector, who played Cecil Jacobs in the movie, both appeared in a Twilight Zone episode in 1964, The Bewitchin' Pool. Mary played Sport and Kim Hector was the kid who appears in the episode fishing in the pond where Sport and her brother surface when they jump into their swimming pool. >>
As some of you know, when I teach TKAM to my sophs, I have a roll of 1900 and a roll of 1906 Indians every year (yeah, it runs me about $100 but who cares) that I hand out to students with high quiz and test scores on TKAM. The novel is the highlight of our year. Today, about 8 am Mountain, my computer in my class showed two pop-ups . . both from ex-student teachers of mine who are now well-established, letting me know of Ms. Nelle Harper Lee's passing. I just finished the unit on TKAM Wednesday, and we also did the movie. How touching . . . I announced to my classes today after roll of her passing . . . and many of those kids have an Indian Cent.
I just sent a PM to Pipestone Pete (Marty) who has been generous in sending us copies of many of his communications with Ms. Lee. I show them to my classes every year, and it is just one of many of those really cool relationships that the Boards have allowed. Glad he has posted here.
Yeah . . . not all that coin related to many of the staunch ones here, but so many of my students get coins from different eras of our novels . . .my own "Coins in the Classroom" work. The Indians in TKAM are the best by far.
I feel lucky to have been on this earth at this time. TKAM is magic and thank goodness I have the lights down low in my classroom during the final scene when Scout walks Boo home. They would see their tough guy teacher and coach looking like he does right now. I rarely shed a tear . . . but I will be honored to do so for Ms. Nelle Harper Lee.
I know she will rest not only in peace, but in the knowledge she has changed many of us deeply with her inspired work.
"I was to think of these days many times . . . . . . ."
Drunner
Cheers, RickO
Scout and Jem, two children in Alabama in 1933, find a pair of such pennies and discuss them.
Scout is narrating.
Inside were two scrubbed and polished pennies, one on top of the other.
Jem examined them.
"Indian-heads," he said. "Nineteen-six and Scout, one of 'em's nineteen-hundred.
These are real old."
I thought Indian cents were still in circulation in 1933. Wouldn't this be the equivalent of saying today that 1983 and 1989 cents are "real old"?
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Happy, humble, honored and proud recipient of the “You Suck” award 10/22/2014
OINK