Mom's Little Helper

Here's a picture of Henry sweeping. We need to get him a smaller broom.



8,440 quarters turned up one silver Washington (1954), one proof quarter (1999S Delaware), five Canadians and one Bermuda 25¢. These quarters put me past the 500,000 mark! Finding two new varieties in one sitting was great, especially the proof quarter.

350 dimes stunk.

240 nickels yielded one US dime and one Canadian.

300 pennies produced just two Canadians.

Found: 2 pennies (1 at Mobil, 1 at Stop & Shop), 1 dime (at Stop & Shop)

Franklins!

Last night I searched a whole lot of halves. 8,001 of them turned up thirty-nine 90% silver halves (1920, 2 x 1941, 3 x 1941D, 1942, 2 x 1950, 2 x 1952, 1959, 1959D, 3 x 1960D, 4 x 1962, 4 x 1962D, 5 x 1963, 4 x 1963D, 6 x 1964), twenty-six 40% silver halves (1965, 2 x 1966, 12 x 1967, 8 x 1968D, 3 x 1969D), one proof half (2005S) and thirteen mint set halves (2 x 2002P, 2 x 2002D, 2003D, 2004P, 2004D, 2 x , 2 x 2008P, 2008D). That's a pretty good turnout for me! The two new varieties in there were great to find. The 1920 half is the third oldest I've found. Like the other Walking Liberty halves of that age that I've found it is quite worn.

I also searched twelve small dollars, but they didn't produce anything.

Found: 2 pennies (1 at Valvoline, 1 at Stop & Shop), 1 dime (1 at the liquor store)

Redeemed: $11.90

Wild Night

Last night Meg, Henry and I went out for Chinese food. We usually go out on the weekends, but this weekend looks a bit busy so Thursday worked better for us. It was a bit crazy. Usually Henry is very good at restaurants, but last weekend he wasn't too good and last night he wanted no part of sitting down. For half of "the meal" Meg walked around the restaurant with him and for the half it was my turn. We've gotten used such things and I was proud that we both took it in stride. Afterwards we had one of our greatest play times ever. Henry was very affection and silly with us for about half an hour. I wish I could have captured it on video, but it would have been hard to do so and not loose the moment. Nothing like a hug from one's son!

I searched a big batch of coins last night too. Usually Thursday is one of my night's off, but yesterday I was motivated by my 19th century coin find.

Twenty-eight small dollars, two half dollars and 880 quarters didn't produce anything.

3,650 dimes turned up on silver Rosie (1948), three Canadians and one Bermuda 10¢.

2,240 nickels yielded three Canadians (2 Ni) and one Bermuda 5¢. No War Times. :(

7,500 pennies had twenty-six Wheats and forty-two Canadians. The Wheats were:

1916, 1935, 1939, 1941, 1942(2), 1945(4), 1946, 1947, 1948D, 1950, 1950D, 1950S, 1942D, 1953(2), 1955, 1957, 1957D(4), 1958



This morning I completed reading another book, Odd Tom Coryate: The English Marco Polo, by R.E. Pritchard. The book described the life of an English court jester who undertook two journeys, mostly by foot, in the early 1600's. Coryate first took a journey to northern Italy through France and then back through Germany and The Netherlands. When he returned he wrote about it in a book titled, Coryat's Crudities: Hastily gobled up in Five Moneth's Travels. To get the book populished he had to curry favor with many English elite by allowing them to write an introduction to his book. These introductions, many of which poked fun at Coryate, became so popular that an unauthorized second publishing of the book only included the introductions and not the travelogue! I found it interesting to read how a 17th century European traveler would view the world. Coryate spent most of his time touring churches, discussing religious differences (usually he was not very accommodating), observing harsh judicial practices and noting the economic benefits of the territories he passed through. He spent little time enjoying the natural beauty of the lands. His love of traveling for the sake of improving oneself became a model in England. Unfortunately his second journey through the Greek Islands, Turkey, Palestine, Iraq, Persia and India is not well documented as as many of his notes were lost or unpublished. He died in India before completing his many of his travel goals.

Just Some Pennies

Last night when I came home I found Meg and Henry in the backyard. They were reading together. Now that's a good sign Spring is here! During bathtime Henry I worked on one of his new words, "duck." Henry has also been saying "eyes" as well. We're working on ears and nose.

10,000 pennies turned up fifty Wheats, eighty-two Canadians, seven US dimes, one UK penny (1977) and one Panama 1¢. The Wheats were:

1910, 1917, 1920S, 1925, 1936, 1938, 1940(3), 1941, 1941D, 1942(3), 1944(2), 1944D, 1945(2), 1946(4), 1947D, 1948(3), 1949(2), 1950, 1950S, 1951, 1951D(2), 1952(2), 1953(2), 1955, 1956(3), 1957(2), 1957D(2), 1958, 1958D(3)

The 1920S is only the second one I've found.

Found: 5 pennies (1 at Home Depot), 2 dimes (1 at Home Depot)

Mom's Night

Last night Henry and I had a boy's night together and Meg had a mom's night with my sister at a cooking class. We did just fine. It was definitely quieter without Meg with us, but we had a good time playing together after supper. Meg definitely deserves a break!

I searched some coin last night while watching a movie. Although I didn't find another early 19th century coin, I didn't do too bad, especially with the dimes.

2,560 quarter turned up just six Canadians and a Cayman Islands 25¢.

5,050 dimes pushed me over the 800,000 mark! The one million mark is in my sights. In them I found three silver Rosies (2 x 1946, 1963D), eleven Canadians, two US pennies, one Aruba 10¢ and one Bermuda 10¢. Two of the Canadians were silver coins as well. One was a 1965 80% silver dime and the other was a 1968 50% silver dime.

2,800 nickels yielded seventeen Canadians (7 Ni) and two Aruba 25¢. I'm in a bit of a War Time nickel dry spell.

2,500 pennies (half from the terrible batch the night before) turned up four Wheats, twelve Canadians and one Bermuda 1¢. The Wheats were:

1945, 1947, 1953, 1957

Found: 2 pennies (at the Hess)

Farthing

Last night Meg and I had a lot of fun with Henry. We first played with his ball with him and then I sat him down to color for me (some artwork for my office). Often Meg can get him laughing. It's quite a sight. Nothing makes Meg and I as happy as hearing him squeal in delight while he plays. Here's some video I took on Sunday.





After Henry went to bed I searched some coin. It wasn't too good, except for one true gem.

2,200 quarters turned up just three Canadians and one US nickel.

1,050 dimes produced just one Canadian and one UK 5 pence. A teller did, however, save me one silver Rosie (1964D).

I searched just 480 nickels and in them I found one of my best finds yet! In one hand roll there was an odd foreign coin that was greater in diameter than the US nickels. I didn't know what it was at first, but on closer inspection I realized it was some sort of very old British coin. I did some quick research and realized I had found an 1831 Great Britain Farthing! (A farthing is one fourth of a penny.) It is from the reign of William IV. 2,688,000 copies were minted and according to an online catalog I found it is worth $10-30. Previous to this find the oldest coin I had found was from 1864. The condition of that coin is total crap compared to this one too. 178 years old! I can't believe it.



I also searched 7,000, lousy, pennies. In them was just nine Wheats, seven Canadians and two US dimes. The Wheats were:

1936, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1949, 1950, 1953D(2), 1958D

A teller saved me one Wheat (1953).

Found: 6 pennies (3 outside Sovereign Bank, 3 outside Bank of America)

Stumped

This weekend's batch of coins didn't produce so well. 8,080 halves turned up just one 90% silver half (1951), ten 40% silver halves (2 x 1966, 4 x 1968D, 4 x 1969D) and seven mint set halves (2003P, 2004P, 2 x 2005P, 2005D, 2 x 2007D). Most of the silver halves came from one bank stop, not the boxes I looked through.

Oh well.

I had a nice time with the family this weekend. On Saturday Meg visited with friends and Henry and I went to my mothers. With his Nana we went to a local park and for a short walk. Henry also had a good time playing with all of the new toys at her place. On Sunday the three of us went to my sister's for a St. Patrick's Day party. It is now the first holiday Henry has celebrated twice. He held his own pretty well against his older, bigger cousins.



Found: 9 pennies (1 at Burger King, 1 outside the Indian restaurant, 7 in a shopping center parking lot), 3 nickels (1 on the road, 2 in a shopping center parking lot), 1 dime (in a shopping center parking lot), 1 quarter (in Papa Gino's)

Kahunaville

After going a nice walk with Meg and Henry and playing outside in the yard with Henry (he likes to dribble his ball like a soccer ball and push the stroller around the driveway) I searched some coin.

I picked up just one small dollar, but did get a roll of new 2009P William Henry Harrison dollars.

2,800 quarters produced one silver Washington (1962), four Canadians, one Kahunaville Token, one Sweden 1 Krona (2000, worth 11¢), one Cayman Islands 25¢, four US nickels, one US dime, one US penny and one US dollar. The US dollar, a Susan B., is the first I've found in a roll of quarters. The roll was three coins short, so someone knew the worth of the coin. The Swedish coin is a new type for me. The Kahunaville Token comes from a chain of restaurants. Their motto is "Tropical Oasis of Food and Fun!"



4,000 dimes yieled six silver dimes (1942, 1943, 1959, 1963D, 2 x 1964), eight Canadians and one UK 5 pence.

2,000 nickels turned up one Buffalo (1936), one War Time (1944P), three Canadians and one Japan 1¥ (worth 1¢). The Japanese coin is a new one for me. The Buffalo is in a pretty good condition, too bad it is another 1936. The War Time nickel is really beat up.



The bank had no pennies for me to pick up.

Found: 4 pennies (in Burger King)

Three To Go!

Despite much sporatic crabbyness from Henry, the rest of last weekend was great.

Meg and I took him to a new remodeled creamery/greenery near our house. We had a run-in inside of the animal pen during which three goats started nibbling on Meg's pant leg at the same time a donkey was nibbling mine. Two animals escaped a little as well. It was one funny moment. I wished we could have captured it on video, but we were too busy escaping danger! At the place we also had some ice cream. Unfortunately it wasn't homemade.





On Sunday I took Henry shoe shopping. My old sneakers were pathetic and I desperately needed new ones ... months ago! He did well. After that we picked up Meg and went to a nearby park. Henry rode on the swings and played in the sand box. He was a bit unsure about the feel of the sand, but didn't want to go when we decided to leave.

Last night I searched a bunch of coin. It didn't go so well, except for the dimes!

2,000 quarters turned up just one Canadian and a Philippine 1 Piso.

3,000 dimes yielded three silver Rosies (1947S, 1949D, 1962D), five Canadians and two US pennies. With that 1947S I now have just three more silver Rosies to find before I complete my album! The 1949D is a pretty rare variety as well. I found all three silver dimes in the same roll.

1,200 nickels produced just a Singapore 20¢.

5,000 pennies weren't so good, for Wheats anyway. In them I only found ten Wheats, twenty-three Canadians, one Bermuda 1¢, one Euro 1¢ (Ireland) and two US dimes. The Wheats were:

1939, 1941, 1946(3), 1949S, 1955D(2), 1957D(2)

Found: 13 pennies (3 outside McDonald's, 1 at Sovereign Bank, 1 at Border's Books, 1 at Costco, 1 outside work), 2 nickels (1 outside work, 1 in our backyard), 5 dimes (1 outside McDonald's, 1 outside work), 1 quarter

A Taste of the Weekdays

This morning Henry gave me a bit of a feel for his recent crabby weekday self. It was tough going and right now I really feel like a nap. It's hard to imagine handling like this myself for five days in row.

We had a great dinner, however. We went out last night to celebrate our good fortune at a local BBQ restaurant. The meal was OK, but Henry's behavior was great. He was very nice to the waitress, during the meal he pointed at a bird outside saying, "bud," and he even scribbled a bit with some crayons.

I searched some halves last night. 8,000 of them put me over the 600,000 mark! In this batch I found fourteen 90% silver halves (14 x 1964), thirty-three 40% silver halves (3 x 1965, 4 x 1966, 9 x 1967, 14 x 1968D, 1968S, 2 x 1969D), four proof halves (1968S, 1985S, 2002S, 2007S) and nineteen mint set halves (1987P, 2 x 1987D, 2 x 2002P, 2 x 2004P, 3 x 2004D, 2005P, 2005D, 2006P, 2 x 2006D, 2007P, 2 x 2007D, 2008P). I was very pleased with the results. The 1968S 40% silver proof half I found is a better specimen than the one I have in my collection. With the 2007S half I got a little closer to finishing my collection of proof halves. I also enjoyed the nice mix of mint set halves I came across.

Earlier in the day a teller gave me a bunch of foreign coins she had found in rolls recently. She gave me twenty-five Canadian pennies, four Canadian nickels, four Canadian dimes (one was a 1968 50% silver), one Swiss 20 Rappen, one Bermuda 10¢, one Euro 2¢ (Portugal) and one Euro 1¢ (Netherlands).

Found: 1 penny (in Costco), 1 nickel (outside of work)

Regrouted

Today I finished regrouting our bathroom shower/tub. I had completed the removal of the old grout, some of it had already fallen out, a few weeks ago. Meg and Henry went were visiting Meg's parents and I took a vacation day to get this done. It took a long time, but it looks great.

It was great to have them back too. It sure felt strange not having them here last night. I kept thinking I was hearing Henry crying upstairs and would continually forget I didn't need to be quiet.

Last night I searched a big bunch of coin.

3,080 quarters turned up six Canadians and one US dime. In the mix was a nicely done, silver plated 1999P Delaware quarter. I thought at first it was a solid silver proof quarter, but it was not. :(

6,058 dimes yielded eight silver dimes (1942, 1952D, 1962D, 3 x 1963D, 2 x 1964D), ten Canadians, one UK 5 pence and one Bermuda 10¢. One roll had four silver dimes in it and that's my first Mercury dime in ages!

2,000 nickels produced one Buffalo (1925) and five Canadians (1 Ni). The date on the Buffalo is just barely readable without using Nic-A-Date.

2,500 pennies turned up ten Wheats, twenty Canadians, two US dimes and one Euro 2¢ (Spain). The Wheats were:

1919, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944(2), 1946, 1952D, 1956D(2)

Found: 1 penny (outside the Mobil)

Close, But No Cigar

Today started out well. The snow wasn't too bad and hardly affected my drive into work and a teller saved me a silver dime (1963D) and one Wheat (1951).

I did some coin roll hunting when I got home. Just after it got dark. :)

1,400 quarters produced two Canadians, one UK 10 pence and two US nickels.

1,350 dimes yielded one UK 5 pence, one US penny and one Guatemala 5 centavos. The Guatemala coin is a new type for me. I've found one other coin from that country.



880 nickels turned up two Canadians and one US dime. In the batch was also two keys, 1938S and 1949S! That's my second 1938S of 2009. Sure wish it were a 1938D.

1,700 pennies were pretty good. In them were eighteen Wheats, ten Canadians, one US dime, one Euro 2¢ (Germany) and an Iceland 50 Aurar. The Iceland coin is a new type for me. It's the second coin from Iceland I've found. The Wheats were:

1936, 1941, 1944(3), 1946, 1950D, 1951D(2), 1953, 1953D, 1954, 1956D, 1957(2), 1957D

Spring?

This weekend felt like Spring. A snowy mix is coming tomorrow, but the weather was great for at least the two days that count, Saturday and Sunday. On Friday we had a good dinner out. Henry lasted a long time. On Saturday Meg went to a play her sister was in and Henry and I hung out with my sister and her two boys. We had a chaotic time at a restaurant, but everything was still fun. Today we met my parents for a quick tour of a nearby botanical garden. We all liked the indoor plants. Meg took some good pictures there and Henry only tore off one leaf!







I searched my weekly halves on Saturday. 8,000 halves turned up twenty-one 90% halves (19 x 1964, 2 x 1964D), fourteen 40% silver halves (1966, 2 x 1967, 9 x 1968D, 2 x 1969D), three mint set halves (2005D, 2007P, 2008P) and two medals. One of the medals said "Dad I Love You" and was looking back at me as I opened the box. It seemed appropriate as Henry went with me to pick up the coins. The other medal was in the same box and was some sort of religious medal. I even found a site where it is for sale.





Found: 9 pennies (1 at work, 5 at Shaw's, 2 at Sovereign Bank, 1 at Mobil), 1 dimes (at Sovereign Bank, a silver Rosie!, 1951), 2 quarters (1 at Sovereign Bank, 1 outside Friendly's)

Fine Motor Skills

Last night when giving Henry a bath I realized how much his fine motor skills have improved. He has a small fishing net that is for scooping up some floating plastic toys he has. I can now see him starting to scoop things up himself! It's a pretty amazing sight to see. This morning I was also impressed with how he correctly used two drumsticks, one in each hand, to beat on his drum. He's coming along. Let's hope his one year doctor visit goes well today!

I also searched some coin.

Late on Tuesday I got a call from a bank employee about a large stash of dollar and half dollar coins that were turned in. I went as soon as I could to get them. The stash included 263 large dollar coins, 32 small dollar coins and 340 half dollars. Unfortunately there wasn't anything good in them. :( Oh well, the thought was much appreciated. I'm certainly glad they thought of me.

5,300 pennies yielded sixty-one Wheats, forty-nine Canadians, three US dimes, one Bermuda 1¢ and one Bahamas 1¢. Included in the Wheats was one variety I hadn't found since November, 2007, the 1924. I'm not sure why it has been so elusive. The Wheats were:

1924, 1936, 1937, 1941(2), 1942(2), 1944(4), 1945(4), 1946(9), 1946S, 1947(2), 1949, 1949D, 1951D(2), 1952(3), 1952D(3), 1953(2), 1953(4), 1954, 1955(3), 1955D, 1956D(4), 1957(2), 1957D(5), 1958(2), 1958D

Found: 1 dime (outside Bank of America)

Post Birthday

Last night Henry and I took down the balloons that were about the house. Surprisingly, he seemed more upset about the balloons I let the air out slowly out of and gave to him rather than the balloons I popped. At dinner we were reminded of just how much Henry likes spicy food. He chowed down on some spicy tofu Meg made without any problem. He also seems to be attempting to say more words. Perhaps he's saying more and we don't understand him?

I searched some coin while we watched TV.

Ten large dollars and three half dollars didn't produce anything.

1,960 quarters yielded five Canadians, four US dimes and three US nickels. One of the Canadians was a 1964 80% silver! The smaller US coins I found didn't bother me too much as they were extras. I found quite a few rolls with 41 quarters in them.



3,950 dimes produced two silver Rosies (1956, 1962D), thirteen Canadians, one Singapore 10¢, one UK 5 pence, one East Carribean States 10¢ and two US pennies.

2,260 nickels turned up nine Canadians (2 Ni). In the nickels I also found a big batch of early AU Jeffersons. This must have been from the same source I found similar coins from a few weeks back (same bank). The coins were: 26 x 1939, 26 x 1941, 13 x 1941.



I also finished reading a book on during our snow day. The book is River Road to China: The Search for the Source of the Mekong, 1866-73 by Milton E. Osbourne. It details a French expedition undertaken in the middle of the 19th century to determine if the Mekong River was suitable for navigation and trading. The Mekong River, which starts in Cambodia, almost immediately proved to be unfit for their purposes as they encountered multiple sets of rapids and the countryside they journeyed through was not as wealthy as they hoped. Eventually the team made their way north into China. There they were assisted by French missionaries and successfully avoided being caught up in an ongoing Muslim rebellion. Their expedition was salvaged a bit by their "discovery" of the trade possibilities of the Red River.



I was a bit disappointed by the book. The journey the Frenchmen undertook was amazing, but Osbourne description of it was lacking. Several of the expedition's members wrote books about the trip, but unlike other exploration books I've read Osbourne did not use these sources in a way that helped me really understand the men or their environment. I think I'll read another book on the expedition and possibly acquire some reprints of the original works. The pictorial journal done by the group's artist looks to be fantastic. It's just a little costly.



Found: 4 pennies (1 at Target, 1 at Sovereign Bank, 2 at McDonald's)

Happy Birthday Henry!

Yesterday we celebrated Henry's 1st birthday! We had a party at our house with family from both sides. Meg made a light lunch for all. We had cake and cupcakes and then opened presents. The big moment was Henry's first cupcake. Meg made him a special birthday carousel to hold his cake. He seemed a bit overwhelmed by all the frosting. He ate most of the cake, however. About a dozen of us took photos of the moment. He was also really good during the time we opened his presents. He squealed with delight for many of the gifts he got. One of my favorites is a copy of a Richard Scarry book I had when I was young. There's 70 pages of fun in that book!

Today he is still saying the word "balloon" while pointing at all the balloons we left up. It's his first two syllable word. :)

I did some coin roll hunting on Friday night and last night.

8,003 halves produced my best silver turn out of the year. I found thirteen 90% silver halves (1942, 10 x 1964, 2 x 1964D), ninety-three 40% silver halves (1965, 2 x 1966, 35 x 1967, 34 x 1968D, 12 x 1969D), one mint set half (2005D), one East Africa 10¢ (1941) and some sort of medal. The East African coin is really cool! It's one of the oldest foreign coins I've come across. I'm not sure what the medal is from. It seems like it used to be welded to something.





I also searched 850 dimes. They yielded one silver Rosie (1964) and four Canadians.

1,480 nickels produced one War Time (1943S), three Canadians (1 Ni), two Bermuda 5¢, one US dime and three US pennies.

3,950 pennies turned up thirteen Wheats, thirty-one Canadians and three US dimes. The Wheats were:

1919, 1935, 1938, 1942, 1944(2), 1947, 1948, 1951, 1953D, 1956, 1956D, 1957D

Found: 3 pennies (1 at Bank of America, 1 at Stop & Shop, 1 at Target)