A 1948 Nickle

If this nickle could talk, what would it say about where it has been?  Born in 1948, it just now made it to my hands in 2013; a full 65 years later.  (The date is barely discernable, and is placed in this photo at 12:00.)

Nickles are historically the longest lasting of all of our minted coins; and I have held older ones in my hands, but never held onto them as I might with this one for awhile longer.  I do not spend coins, I save them for bulk redemption later, or drop them into those slots in the McDonald's drive-thru; as I do not like the feel of coins in my pockets.

There was something about this nickle though that drew me to it.  Maybe it was the rust; it just felt different in my hand.  Was it the fact that it is 10 years older than me?  It has nicks, cuts, bruises; and I was going to polish it up before placing in my coin bottle, but decided to hold onto it, give it a little breather before placing it back into circulation.

But seriously, what would it say about where it has been?

How many 1,000's, or 100's of 1,000's, or millions of times has it been used in 65 years?

How many times has it been in the pocket or purse of anyone 'famous', and who would that be?

What types of items has it been used to purchase?  Good gosh, the list could be nearly endless; let your imagination run wild.

What countries of the world has it visited?

How many times has it been deposited into a bank?

How many times has it been 'lost'?

How many times has it been run over?

Who is the oldest person to have held it; who is the youngest?

It used to buy a cup of coffee.  But the .05c cup of coffee has been replaced by the $5.00 cup of coffee at many haute couture coffee shops across the USA.  That's a big difference in price increases over 65 years.

It used to buy a bottle of pop.  The trendy stores are trying to bring back the real sugar versions of the 8 oz pop bottles, but they sell today for well over $1.

A nickle, I don't remember my first nickle.  But, I still remember the exact spot where I found my first dime, on the sidewalk next to Loma Vista Bowl, on a Saturday morning, from which, I promptly walked 25 yards to TG&Y and bought a tube of airplane model glue with it!  And, I still remember literally my first dollar, and doing 100 chores worth .01c each to earn it; wishing now that for memory purposes that I would have kept it.

And that's my trip down memory lane for today, and yes, I am thankful that I still have a memory...