As Tim and I raise our children. When we see them have a deep interest in something that is educational and good. We try to encourage it and provide every opportunity to experience things pertaining to it. We try to give them the tools to progress in that area and enjoy their hobbies to the best of their ability.
Every since Carolyn was a very small child she has been fascinated with coins. Not the value and what you can buy with them. Actually, because of her learning disabilities she has not even been able to learn what the different US coins are called and their value. What she has loved, is the beauty she sees in them and on them. The engravings and shapes and different metals used in the making of the coins of the world. Most people who collect coins, collect a certain type of coin. Like silver rounds for their value because most are one ounce of pure silver. Or China Pandas for their art work and silver value. Or collect all the different years of Indian head pennies or nickles when they made them. People have an interest and want to collect a certain kind of coin.
With her...she likes coins with animals on them. She also for some reason loves Queen Elizabeth. So any coin that has Queen Elizabeth on them and an animal is going into her collection. Since there is not many US coins with animals on them she loves foreign coins. As many of them have all kinds of animals on them. She also loves Abe Lincoln on coins. So has a lot of different pennies and was thrilled when they did the Abe Lincoln penny series of his life.
Since she loves to look at and collect these types of coins, my dad and I have been taking her to local coin shows for years. Probably since she was about five years old. She likes to walk up and down all the isles looking in the different cases, at the details of all the coins. When we come upon a person that has a box of foreign coins (usually 5 for a 1.00) she pulls up a chair and digs for long periods of time looking for coins she likes, thinks are pretty and has not seen before.
We usually have two coin shows in the spring we take her to. One, an hours drive from our town and one a half hour from our town. Then in the fall those same two places have them again. So on those weekends my dad and I take her to them and she has such a good time and looks forward to going. She saves her money so she can buy a few treasures. Most of what she buys has very little value in the coin world but to her..they are her much loved hobby and treasures.
Recently, I had bought her some ways to organize her coin collection a bit better. So she has been spending a lot of time putting all her little treasures in little plastic sleeves and into boxes. She is having the time of her life and that is what a collection is supposed to bring you. Enjoyment!
The last show we went to was last weekend. At that show there was a booth set up by the Hobo Nickel Society. Now if you don't know what a Hobo Nickel is. It is coin art. It has been going on for years. For many years people have taken Indian-head nickles and re-carved the face or back. Some are just stunning works of art and some very crude. It was an inexpensive, easily portable art form that Hobos did in their spare time and could carry around with them. Thus the name. The carvings are not always done on nickles but no matter what coin the art is carved into, the name is always the same. I myself have always been fascinated with them since I was a child and have bought several very good ones thru the years for my collection.
Below is a normal Indian Head Nickle and one of my Hobo Nickles by it.
So at the coin show was Mr. Archie Taylor in his booth from the Hobo Nickle Society.
I just love it when God uses special people to make my children's day! It does not happen often. But when it does, boy it warms my heart. May God bless Mr. Taylor 100 fold for his time and effort.
That Mr. Taylor is a pretty special guy for spending that time with Carolyn and I've never seen a hobo nickel.....those are cool!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, may God bless him for his sweet spirit and taking the time with Carolyn. It did make her day. I think Hobo nickles are cool too. They are works of art. I have seen some pretty elaborate ones. I saw one recently in a magazine that was priced at 2,200.00. It was beautiful but that was just unreal! I could feed my family for two months with that kind of money! Blessings!
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