Counting Change

"A man can know his father, or his son, and there might still be nothing between them but loyalty and love and mutual incomprehension." - from Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

A couple of weeks ago, this 1949 quarter emerged when we converted my loose change into an Amazon gift card at our local Coinstar machine. Besides being old, this quarter is of value because it is 90% silver. Until 1974, many US coins contained some silver. Quarters stopped being made from silver in 1965. The internet tells me this quarter is worth between three and four dollars. For me, for a brief moment, it was worth a lot more.

In the late 1970's, my dad started bringing home bags of quarters, Kennedy half-dollars and Eisenhower dollars. He would buy bags of coins from the bank at face value and return them a few days later for redeposit at the same face value. In between, we would do a little treasure hunting in those 25 pound bags of metal.

Usually on a Friday, after dinner, we would unroll the coins, spread them out on the dining table and search for the older, silver-containing coins that were still in circulation. We would replace the silver coins we found with newer ones and re-roll the coins for return to the bank. Dad would take the silver coins to a local coin store and sell them for much more than face value. The coin store bought them mainly for scrap because starting in 1978, silver and gold prices began to rise. By the second half of 1979, thanks to the Hunt Brothers, silver prices sky rocketed until they reached their historic high in January of 1980. At the peak, the scrap value of the quarter I found was about $10 (in 1980 dollars) - not a bad return for a couple of hours searching through a bag of quarters.

Silver and gold prices from September 1966 through September 1982 (in 2012 dollars).

I doubt that my dad made a lot of money scavenging silver coins from the bank's bags of change, but he gave me a memory that makes me smile and reminds me of his good intentions. Dad was complicated and connections did not come easy between us. For Dad, this foray into treasure hunting via the local bank led to even more treasure hunting. His visits to the coin shop led to discovery of a local antique auction which led to his second career buying and selling estates. Along the way as he pursued his new found avocation, I joined him from time to time for trips to auctions and antique shops. We spent hours in the car driving the roads of Western North Carolina, eating at Shoney's and, occasionally, finding something in common to talk about.

Like any teen would, I resisted my dad's efforts to get me to tag along. I had better things to do. Now, at 47 with 17 year old daughters, I finally understand where he was coming from and I realize it was not about having someone to carry the boxes of antiques. My daughters are a bit more receptive to my attempts to spend time together, but I realize the chances to connect are fleeting. So, just like searching for those valuable silver coins with my dad so long ago, I am determined not to overlook a single chance to make those priceless connections with my daughters. 

Much remains a mystery, but I do comprehend that what dad did in dragging me to all those auctions and antique shops was show me how to be better dad. If he were here today, I would tell him thank you.