Coin Connecting

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Collecting coins is not only a hobby; it can also help form strong personal bonds that are treasured for a lifetime. Coins piqued my curiosity sometime in elementary school, when I discovered a silver nickel in my pocket change. Something was different about this nickel compared to other ones I had seen. It had a large letter above the dome of Monticello. I was sure I had a very rare find and stored it in an old pill box lined with cotton. My father directed me to visit our neighbor, Mr. MacDonald, who was a serious coin collector. He explained the history of the coin I had found and gave me several others. For many years thereafter, he gave me a silver dollar on my birthday.

But this story relates to a more important connection, one with a long-lasting influence. I was a different kind of kid. I didn’t like playing or watching sports. I liked to read, especially Hardy Boys mysteries. I built Revell models of ships, airplanes, and cars, carefully detailing them. In school, I was fascinated by history and geography. My solitary interests may have been of concern to my parents, but I was a perfectly happy kid.

Shared Interest

My father was a Connecticut State Police detective, and when I was five years old, he retired and became licensed as a private detective (think Fenton Hardy). He traveled frequently, usually leaving early Monday morning and returning Friday evening. I was the youngest of four children, and I don’t think my father knew quite what to make of me. To his credit, he accepted me at face value, and we found one interest that we shared, talked about, and learned about together—coin collecting.

My interest in old coins had grown since I found my first wartime nickel; I purchased the 1964 edition of A Guide Book of United States Coins (the “Red Book”) and started searching through coins from the local bank, $20 at a time. When my father was on the road, he would sort through change (often from the cash register at the hotels where he stayed), finding coins that were older, silver, or foreign. Once in a while, a token would sneak into the change drawer.

Weekend Treasures

I looked forward to seeing him on the weekends to learn what he had discovered in his travels. We would go through the coins together, talk about each one, and of course look them up in the Red Book. Sometimes he would purchase a “gem” for me from a coin shop. Among the coins he discovered or purchased were type coins of various denominations (e.g., a Capped Bust half dollar; Matron Head large cent; Braided Hair half cent; 2- and 3-cent pieces; Seated Liberty half dime, quarter, and half dollar; a half cent Canadian bank token; Knickerbocker Currency Civil War token; and even an 1857 Flying Eagle cent, though not in great condition).

My father became ill, which caused him to curtail his travels for several years. He died during my first semester of college when I was 17. Over the years, my interests have evolved into collecting old and rare books and writing local history, echoing my earlier fascination with history and geography. However, I still keep and cherish those coins my father and I collected together. They are more valuable to me than any of my old books. I have a deep emotional attachment to them that goes beyond the simple ownership of a collectible. Looking at them always brings back a flood of good memories of my father and the connection we formed at a critical developmental period in my life.

Author’s Biography

Michael C. Dooling is a resident of Connecticut and a former news librarian and historical writer at the Republican-American newspaper, and former archivist and historian at the Mattatuck Museum. He has authored dozens of historical articles and several books, including Clueless in New England: The Unsolved Disappearances of Paula Welden, Connie Smith and Katherine Hull; and Seaworthy Timber: The Life and Times of New England Sea Captain Aaron H. Wood. You can learn more about his work at michael-c-dooling.square.site