Coins

Years ago, I used to work on a construction site. On that site there was an engineer who worked for one of the subcontractors. Every time he came into our offices, he asked all of us to empty our pockets. At the beginning and with my limited English vocabulary I thought he was going to rob us. Well, that was not his intention. It turned out he was a serious coin collector.

He looked over all our coins to make sure that us amateurs were not carrying something that had more than face value. Sorry to say none of us had a million dollars' worth coin in our pockets. But still he looked them all over with a magnifying glass, identifying issue dates and places looking for that elusive lucky coin. But it was interesting and educational.

I also got into the habit of looking at our coins at home but so far never found a penny that was worth more than a penny. Maybe one day I will get lucky. I think around 2000 they issued $1 coins. First day I went to the bank and got about ten of them and put them away thinking they will worth something later on. First of all, I have no idea where they are now. Second, they are still only worth $1. They were never popular. Some merchants were not happy to accept them. The only places they are accept them are tolls, parking meter and maybe the Post Office. 

A lot of effort from the government's side for nothing. What else is new?