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There were too many poor people during the Great Depression....
topstuf
Posts: 14,803 ✭✭✭✭✭
the 1929 one.
They made gifts of too many $2.50 gold pieces.
If they had been rich, we'd have more nice 5's and 10's.
20's don't count cause they all went to Europe and sat in bank vaults.
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My paternal Grandmother (born 1905) was the daughter of a well-off farmer. She told me of receiving a five dollar gold piece each year at Christmas time. She and her two sisters each received one. She said the coins were typically spent for whole cloth and buttons for making new dresses.
Her father (my great-grandfather) lost a 120 acre farm in the early 1930s. He had borrowed money against his farm in 1926 to build a new two story farmhouse. Eventually couldn't make the payments and lost the farmland and the house at age 57.
He lived another 25 years but I don't think any further five dollar gold pieces figured into the story.
Well of course not. He was probably a good citizen who didn't really take the time to find out that you DIDN'T have to turn in all your gold coins so he did and got poor and lost it all.
NEVER believe the government!
My grandfather used to hum "Buddy can you spare a CAC sticker"
That was after he went into the home.
Strange comment. A dollar in gold was identical in buying power to a dollar in silver or paper. People who turned in non-horded gold lost nothing financially. Later, as the market price of gold increased, owners might have sold coins for a nice profit, but few ordinary people owned gold coins or could afford to keep it sitting around. The quantities of gold coin actually surrendered by Americans in 1933 was small compared to the amounts of paper currency that returned to the banking system after the bank holiday.
The descent of many from reasonable comfort to poverty had nothing to to with turning in gold coins during the Great Depression.
Lastly, in the U.S. the government tries to serve everyone equally - that doesn't mean perfectly - but to do the best it can. Large companies, however, focus on their narrow line of business without regard to other factors. Tobacco companies pushed products that ultimately harm users, yet accept no responsibility for the consequences. A more accurate comment might be "never believe a company advertisement."
Facts can be difficult to deal, especially when they contradict emotions.
The Great Depression was NOT some kind of 'jokey Smurf' libertarian affair.
It was real toil, sweat, tears and even blood for very many people.
My Great-Grandfather hated Roosevelt, but his real enemy was Andrew J. Mellon and that class.
Again, we Numismatists have the example of William H. Woodin, whose final years are not always properly remembered today.
The folks who bought up the distressed goods and defaulted properties of the masses experienced very few tears.
And that's as far as I'll go to inject my cynical observations about poverty and its causes.
We still didn't get enough gifts of 5 dolla golpieces.
Did he have original skin?
The Gods revenged Andy Mellon with a very sad married life. His daughter had a tough time there too.
...and the yutz from the Titanic lost his life after the crash!
Which yutz?
I could definitely tell my grandparents experienced hard times during the depression. They were born in 1900. When I would spend the night with them woe be it unto you if you even thought about leaving a tiny speck of food on your plate.
Even grits?
Always figured that was why I had such a hard tine finding those 1920's and 30's dimes.
I got chastised one time when there was a speck of scrambled eggs on my plate not much bigger than a grit! My grandfather insisted I eat it!
The Barber coins were greatly affected by the Great Depression. About the time people might have routinely saved some of them "because they were old", most people had no extra margin. So those Barber coins circulated down into the goods and almost good that we so often encounter today.
We have nothing to fear but fear itself.
My Grandmother told me stories of being fortunate to have a loaf of bread and a worn out pair of shoes. Her mother used to make rock potato soup, potatoes boiled in water with rocks added for flavor. Never asked what type of rocks, wish I had, God bless ya Gram.
My Gram would say the same, you didn't dare get up from the table with food on your plate.
Granite tastes like chicken.
What about Limestone?
If it's of any interest, I will swap loaves of bread for gold coins.
HAH! LIMESTONE is for the elites.
Never got the depression schtick at the dinner table. My dad though talked about the nickel to get into the movies on a Saturday and that included an ice cream cone. Of course someone always chimed in with "who had a nickel?"
I suspect that someone did or the theatre would have been empty.
It was tough times for my relatives - my Aunt and Uncle moved into a converted chicken coop after getting married. Other relatives supported themselves on the farm. No one was rich with extra income to collect coins.
What flavor cone? Wood?
One of my old bosses was starting his working career in the mid 1930s, living in a rooming house in a hot and humid Midwest city. He often worked at night and slept during the day.
He told me that movie theaters were one of the few places that had any kind of indoor cooling system, and that he and others would pay the admission and SLEEP in the seats in the back of the theater. The theaters had continuous showings of films, and it was simply too hot to sleep in his room. He could get decent some shut eye for a few hours.
My Grandparents never mentioned the Depression at mealtime (not that I ever needed encouragement to eat). I once showed them a high grade 1916-D half dollar that I paid a lot for and mentioned the price. After that, I think they thought I was goofy for a while.
I agree with this 110%!
But the cost of the bailouts have not yet been felt.
My grandfather worked in a meat packing plant during the depression.. tenderloin for dinner every night
Menomonee Falls Wisconsin USA
Everyone who gets to the "fixed income" phase of life will feel it in a hurry.
Ditto the people who plan to sell their house to the millennials when they get old.
Almost no one is prepared to pay the bailout bill.
We'll be lucky to even see a gold coin.
The boys kicked the can nine years down the road already.
You all might be wrong.
I had a customer I worked for, a church organist, who won one in race in school in the 30s. Also a guy whose father who was still alive turned over his gold coins in the 30s as a recent Irish immigrant.
Don't forget the quantitative easing. I don't think we had that in the 1930s. The government pretty much cooked the books after the 2008 crash.
When I was growing up we always went to my Mother's parents on Sunday for dinner.
My GrandFather worked his whole life in a factory and provided for his wife and six children.
He was a machinist and a mold maker.
At dinner time he always told everyone,,,,
"take all you want but eat all you take."
Everyone always cleaned off their plate.
When I was growing up all my father gave me was a through ass woopin.
Did you deserve it?
I hear you. My four Grandparents came over on the same boat from Poland. By chance they ended up being next door neighbors in Detroit. They built decent lives for themselves and like most everyone else lost everything during the depression.
My paternal Grandfather had a nice restaurant business then lost it all to the depression. He had to take the bus to Flint from Detroit ( 90 minute car ride today) and work as a short order cook to support his wife and kids. Came home for one day every two weeks. While he was away the Sisters from my Grandmothers Parrish came knocking on the door to collect for the poor. She pretended not to be home as she literally only had one dime in the house with 4 kids to feed at the time. She couldn't give it up. She needed it for bread. The guilt of that day stuck with her for decades. My Grandfather eventually built his business back up. They saved every penny. When he died in the 90's my Grandmother anonymously donated the money necessary to build a new wing to her church when she sold the business. My Grandfather died at one of his restaurants in the kitchen of a heart attack.
All four of my Grandparents preached doom and gloom and predicted we were always headed for the next depression everytime we saw them. According to my Dad it was always like that for seven decades or so. That happened right up to 2003 when my last Grandparent died. ( the grandmother in the story).
I keep one eye open, prepare the best I can and don't sweat what might happen. Too much worrying and life just might pass you by.
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
When I would ask my Mom for some change, she would say "No money, no funny". I always remembered that. Her parents lived a tough life, but like all the others here, they etched their way through.
Funny what people will do when their desperate. Grandpa and Grandma were immigrants. They married in 1923 after meeting in a pants factory. Grandpa got a better job at a valve company and Mom was born in 1926.
Grandpa got laid off when the Depression hit. Mom was 3. My Aunt came along in 1931, my Uncle in 1933.
Desperate for work, Grandpa heard that the Grasselli Chemical Co. was hiring. He risked life and limb when He cut the line to get in. Grandpa never drove, walked to work every day, and never missed a day of work.
Man, they were all tough cookies!
No one in my family ever talked politics, at least not when I was around. They would talk about how they re used things, and about how the alleys were so clean because everyone used the wood for heat.
They never complained. I learned from them by example, which was the best way. They never pointed a finger in my face and lectured. I deeply loved them.
Move along.............................................
Pete
My Mom and Dad lived through the Depression... many stories of how they made it through. We learned that food was not wasted and work was mandatory...Got my first job at eight years old...School was very important, and had to show my Dad my daily assignment book, and finish homework before going out. Those hard times made hard people, but those people were the 'greatest generation'.... Cheers, RickO
It was tough times for everybody except the top 1pct.
I'm glad that's all over.
Judging from the obituaries in my local paper, much of the population of Western Canada moved to WA State during the Depression and the War. No wonder I bought so much Canadian coins cheap while in high school.
I am not disagreeing, and this was perspective was always my assumption, but I was reminded at some point that many people did still have jobs, and I assume if you had one you were in OK shape. Maybe better than OK since many others did not have jobs and you had more buying power in that scenario. I suspect that for many the Depression was a time of general malaise, stagnation, and deprivation, but not necessarily for everyone personally.
Our grandparents and parents experienced and learned from the hard times, then carried those values through their whole life, and instilled in many of us the same. I'm currently reading a great book that has a variety of similar personal history stories on the subject "My American Century" by Studs Terkel. I recommend it to anyone interested in history directly from the folks that lived it.
Terkel was a character. I corresponded with him once or twice years ago. He had a few books like the one you mention. That was his specialty I think - telling our history through the eyes (and words) of ordinary Americans.
One of my favorite quotes comes from someone whose story was told in his book Working : “Most of us have jobs that are too small for our spirits.”
Some times but not the way he did it. He would loose control, a situation when a person is at their weakest, of himself and take it out on some else. When I got bigger than him was he announced no more spankings. Neighbors and life long friends still comment on his method of punishing.
I never touched my kids and they never needed it. Not saying privileges were not taken away but if you have to beat someone with a hose you need to rethink your parenting skills. Just an example of old fashion east Texas discipline and ignorance on my fathers side of the family.
Now that I think about it NO as he never had to bail me out of jail or go to school to get me reinstated because of trouble. I had two brothers and we would get into a scuffle and he would come out and beat us for hitting each other. Never did make any sense to me.
My grandpa lost his Minneapolis/ Moline implement dealership ....Then grew old hearing : " Nothin' runs like a Deere".
If the output exceeds the income, the upkeep will be the downfall.
The first people to get jobs and be able to make money during the depression were the college educated. A focus was put on those children of that generation to get a good education, a push to get them to college. This was drilled into their heads and later their grandchildren. We got to the point where we decided as a society everyone needed to go to college even if it was for a degree in underwater basket weaving, sociology or women studies. Someone forgot we need to tell some people you need to learn how to paint fingernails or turn a wrench.