American Graffiti
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2025 6:38 pm
I found a small pouch of about a dozen old US coins that had to have belonged to my father-in-law. There are a few neat coins, like a 1913 Indian Head Nickel and a 1908 "V Nickel". I looked them up. They're worth more than face value, but probably not a lot. There are others I haven't looked up yet, so who knows what's in that pouch.
One thing that was in it is this 1909 Indian Head Penny with my FIL's initial's inscribed on both sides. Why this penny was important enough to inscribe his initials will forever be a mystery. And holding in my hand what was once so important to him but that is now almost insignificant is notable. He has no heirs or anyone alive who might claim it. Now, any value it might have had beyond it's face value relies on it's importance to him, otherwise it has been ruined with indelible graffiti.
And it's mine, now. I have no idea why he might have wanted to claim this particular penny as his own, but he did. Thankfully, it hasn't actually been ruined, at least not for me. It might be more "valuable" now as "a bit" of an object lesson about what actually has value; you know something you can hold on to. I'm very skeptical of the increasingly popular commodities like NFTs, BitCoins, and other truly ethereal properties whose value relies on electricity and computer networks.
Regardless of the internet, this defaced penny is still a penny... in my hand.
One thing that was in it is this 1909 Indian Head Penny with my FIL's initial's inscribed on both sides. Why this penny was important enough to inscribe his initials will forever be a mystery. And holding in my hand what was once so important to him but that is now almost insignificant is notable. He has no heirs or anyone alive who might claim it. Now, any value it might have had beyond it's face value relies on it's importance to him, otherwise it has been ruined with indelible graffiti.
And it's mine, now. I have no idea why he might have wanted to claim this particular penny as his own, but he did. Thankfully, it hasn't actually been ruined, at least not for me. It might be more "valuable" now as "a bit" of an object lesson about what actually has value; you know something you can hold on to. I'm very skeptical of the increasingly popular commodities like NFTs, BitCoins, and other truly ethereal properties whose value relies on electricity and computer networks.
Regardless of the internet, this defaced penny is still a penny... in my hand.
- My FIL's Initials Inscribed On A Penny
- 1908 Indian Head Penny ER Front.jpg (441.44 KiB) Viewed 637 times