Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Tender Years: Quarters




"A grownup is a child with layers on."  -  Woody Harrelson


Peeling back the layers.




Since I never had a pet named Queenie, I'm going to be talking about quarters today.  During the war (WWII) and afterward, as he traveled all across the country as a heavy duty equipment operator, Daddy collected coins.  My earliest memories around this were in the years we lived on Cooks Road.  The collection was stored in a Mason Jar and in an old Pinocchio plastic bank.  Everything in the collection was solid silver.  Lots of Indian head nickles, quarters of various types from over the years, a couple even from the 1800's.  Standing liberty, sitting liberty, liberty heads, etc.There were a few pieces of money from the war.  But what captured my imagination the most, was the dollar bill he had, printed as currency for Hawaii before it was a state!



This is not Daddy's.  It's one I found on the internet.  You see, Hawaii was a territory of the U.S. and didn't achieve statehood until 1959.  There was something about a state being so new that appealed to me.  

There were many times we hauled out that old coinage and looked at it, and talked about it on the yellow dinner table.  We kept right on adding to it, too.  There was nothing in the collection worth exceeding money.  Just memories and a connection that spanned from Daddy's single days to me and my own children.  Both of which have been allowed to take the bill to school when study made it appropriate.  

What about you?  Any collections, hobbies or interests that spanned generations and connected you together?   

Thanks for sharing!

Barbara

18 comments:

  1. Neat post. I have a lot of interests but nothing that spans generations.

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    1. Well, perhaps you can pass one you love down to someone and start it!

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  2. I don't have anything that spans the generations of my family. Most of that was stolen when our storage facility was stolen - yes, they took the whole building! But, we do have an old upright mahogany piano that was born in 1895. I don't know its story and it doesn't connect me to anyone in my family. However, it was born the same year as one of my great-grandmothers, so I associate it with her, though they never met...at least, not that I know of!

    How cool that you have the money that your daddy had even before you were born. :)

    Have a blessed day.

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  3. Hello Barbara.
    I have a collection of old coins dating back to some time in the 18 hundreds. My grandparents started collecting during the war then my mom and dad and I've continued. My daughter will probably inherit the collection and add to it as well, we'll see.
    Blessings from a fellow collector, Geoff.

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    1. That's neat, Geoff! Good to see you in Caneyhead again!

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  4. I'm not sure if this really counts, but when I was younger, my mum showed me how to collect stamps, because it was something she used to do. I had a stamp book and stamps. I don't know what happened to it, to be honest. When I was a teen, I found a box of my grandpa's stuff, my dad was holding onto. In it were some stamps from when he was in WWII. They were acquired when he sent his wife back home, letters. She saved and collected the stamps. So I decided to keep the stamps for myself because my dad didn't want them. I still have them in my collection, and I still collect stamps to this day.

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    1. I'd certainly say that counts! That's three generations of stamp collectors.

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  5. Mine would be postage stamps and coins. I don't think my father ever collected them (passing at an early age) but I know us siblings do.
    http://enchantedfantasies.blogspot.com/

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  6. I collected coins in my middle school and early high school years, and I've collected comic books for over 55 years, constantly trimming the latter collection!

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    1. I'd say you found the medium you were meant to collect. Thanks for sharing!

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  7. My dad has one of those Hawaii dollars. The story I heard was that they printed them like that just in case Hawaii fell into Japanese hands during WWII.

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    1. What caught my imagination was the fact that Hawaii was still a territory and didn't become a state until 1959, just one year before I was born. In history class, you hear about territories, but can't "touch" any of it. I could actually hold something in my hand that had been in a territory. :)

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  8. Ah! This post evokes such nostalgia. I collect stamps and we've been doing this for generations - from my grandfather to father and now me. I like the stories of nationhood - for example, the ones my grandfather had were from British Borneo, my father's are from Malaya and mine from Malaysia. The sovereigns have also changed from Queen Victoria, King Edward, Queen Elizabeth and now our own Agongs and Sultans.

    Lovely post. Thank you.

    Aneeta from
    How to Tell a Great Story

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    1. Aneeta, that is truly awesome! Thank you for sharing with me.

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  9. That's pretty cool - I didn't know there were special Hawaii dollars!
    I'm not an actual 'collector' but I have currency from each country I've visited. Spending some time in the Navy took me to places I wouldn't ever have gone to, so its neat to look back at - its all so colorful compared to ours!

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    1. You are right about more color being used in other currency. And that's a nice collection to have as it really means something to you.

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So glad you stopped by! Come 'round any time. ~ Barbara

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