After three pleasant days at home it was sure difficult driving into work ... the traffic didn't help either.

On Friday we had family night at Friendly's (Henry's idea ... Dad concurred). Saturday morning was consumed by a trip out to my folks. We took Nana to a nursery to get some plants for our garden and hers, went to a sunny park and had grilled cheeses with Grandpa back at the house. Henry didn't want to leave (nothing new there), but otherwise the kids were great. Hazel doesn't seem to mind these Mom-less trips anymore.

On Sunday Henry and I went to church and in the afternoon I took the kids grocery and farm stand shopping. In the evening Nana and Grandpa came over so that Meg and I could go out with a couple we know. It was the first time we went out with another couple since I don't know when (three years maybe!?). We had a good time. Hazel kept sleeping and Henry was really good with our departure and bedtime.

I was off Monday so we took the kids to see cousin Evan in a small Memorial Day parade. I'm not sure if Henry will ever like parades. The loud music instantly overwhelms him. :( Besides that, however, the event went well. Henry and Liam particularly liked their action packed wagon ride from Grandpa. Both of them wished they could have played longer together, but unfortunately we had stuff to do at home. Henry went to two stores with me in the afternoon. In the parking lot of Lowe's he said to me, "I stay in car." I said, "No. It is too hot." He said, "I have sunscreen on."

Some other good moments of the weekend were Henry peeing in his toilet for the first time, Henry and Hazel playing naked in the small outdoor pool we have Sunday and Monday and Hazel's continued fascination with birds. We Hazel is now saying "bird" and "dog." She certainly says something to get our attention while she's watching such animals, something like "bah" and "dah."

My coins from this weekend were a bit ho-hum.

8,000 halves turned up just seven 40% silver halves (1965, 1966, 2 x 1967, 1968D, 2 x 1969D) and one proof half (1974S).

5,000 pennies rounded up twenty-six Wheats and twenty-eight Canadians.

1930, 1935, 1936, 1941, 1945(2), 1946(3), 1947D, 1948, 1950D, 1951(2), 1952D, 1955(2), 1955D, 1956(3), 1956D(2), 1958, 1958D(2)

Found: 1 penny, 1 dime

Yesterday Meg asked Henry what he wanted to do for the day. He said go to Dunkin' Donuts. Meg was able to convince him to also go the truck park (a nearby park that has a gazillion toy trucks in the sandbox). At Dunkin' Donuts Henry said, "I need two donuts (munchkins) and you (Mom) need a coffee." Yup! The park was a lot of fun Meg said and while there Henry made a friend with another little boy, a small girl befriended Meg and Hazel played in the sandbox.

17 large dollars, 308 small dollars and 40 halves didn't produce anything.

3,000 quarters had seven Canadians, one Cayman Islands 25¢, one ECS 25¢ and one US nickel. In the mix was also a new modern quarter for me, the 2011P Glacier.

4,600 dimes turned up two silver Rosies (2 x 1964), eight Canadians, three US pennies, one Bermuda 10¢ and one UK 5 pence.

4,000 nickels yielded three War Times (2 x 1943P, 1944P), seven Canadians, three US dimes, one US penny and a key date Jefferson (1939S). I also found a neat nickel with "JBK" stamped one the back just above the dome.

5,100 pennies rounded up eighty-one Wheats, forty Canadians, two US dimes and one Bermuda 1¢ One roll of pennies was solid Wheats, but unfortunately they were mostly 1951D's and 1953D's ... kind of boring.

1929, 1936, 1941D, 1942, 1944(4), 1945, 1946, 1947, 1947D, 1948(2), 1948D, 1951D(25), 1952, 1952D(3), 1953D(29), 1955, 1955D(2), 1956, 1957(2), 1957D, 1958D

Found: 2 pennies, 1 dime

2,880 quarters turned up three Canadians and one US dime.

1,150 dimes produced one silver Rosie (1961D) and one Bermuda 10¢.

840 nickels rounded up two Canadians (2 Ni).

2,700 pennies yielded one proof penny (1987S), eight Wheats and twelve Canadians. That's the second proof penny I've found this year ... bummer it's the same one. I also found a penny with a New Jersey stamp on it.

1935, 1941, 1950D, 1955, 1957(3)

Found: 2 pennies

115 small dollars had one new Canadian $1 for me, the 2009 Canadien 100th Anniversary dollar.

960 quarters had six Canadians and one Australian 10¢.

2,050 dimes produced two silver Rosies (1963D, 1964) and seven Canadians. One of the Canadians was a 1946, 80% silver dime. It's the second oldest Canadian I've found in a roll and the rarest by mintage; 6,300,066 were minted. In this batch was also a new modern dime for me, the 2011P.

1,720 nickels yielded just two Canadians (1 Ni) and two US dimes.

2,950 pennies turned up thirteen Wheats, twenty-four Canadians and one Bermuda 1¢.

1918, 1920S, 1939, 1941(2), 1944, 1945, 1945S, 1951D, 1956D, 1957D

Found: 2 pennies, 1 dime, 1 foreign coin (a Mexican $10)

Henry building a tower.



Hazel saying "done."

100 small dollars produced a new one for me, the 2011P Sacagawea.

8,000 half dollars had eight 90% silver halves (1948D, 2 x 1952, 1962, 1963D, 3 x 1964), twenty-eight 40% silver halves (7 x 1966, 10 x 1967, 9 x 1968D, 2 x 1969D) and one proof half (1976S). The 1948D Franklin is really worn and has a big hole in it, only 93% of it's original weight remains ... I'll take it.

5,000 pennies yielded thirty-two Wheats, thirty-one Canadians, one Bermuda 1¢ and one Civil War token!



Here's a quote from an article on the PCGS website.

As coins disappeared [during the Civil War] from circulation, commerce ground to a halt. Emergency money was necessary if the economy was to function. It soon became obvious the private sector rather than the government would have to take action. The first attempt at substitutes for the now vanished coins was U.S. postage stamps. ... Fractional paper currency in odd cent denominations was the next emergency issue to appear. The federal government issued these between 1862 and 1863. The problem with all of these emergency issues was that they were made of paper. People still wanted the feel of metal in their hands. ... In their minds metal money couldn't lose its value. The federal government was not prepared to offer this, but local merchants were. ... Although the large cent was replaced with the small cent only a few years earlier in 1857, merchant tokens began to appear of the proper diameter, weight and metal composition to the new small cent beginning as early as 1861, perhaps even as early as 1860. Some of these merchant tokens advertised the name of the merchant whom issued them. Others depicted patriotic subjects and used such slogans as "Army & Navy," "Win the War" or "Live and Let Live." The first group are today considered to be merchant tokens while the second group are called Patriotic Civil War tokens. The public liked and used both

As the war wore on, so did the popularity of the merchant and patriotic tokens in commerce. The only potential problem was that some merchants drew very bad press by refusing to redeem them. No matter, since they were made of metal rather than paper the public still continued to use them where federal coins were not available.

The federal government finally stepped in during 1864, outlawed the private production of any form of substitute money and eventually got its act together enough to get real coins back into circulation in sufficient numbers.

I had heard about these before, but obviously I didn't really expect to find one in a roll of pennies. I'm not sure where to rank this one as it is not exactly a coin, it's the third oldest piece I've found in rolls and the oldest US piece I've found. I am quite pleased

In this batch was also the second 1928D Wheat I've found. I knew somehow that once I found one of these I'd find a second in no time. Things seems to happen that way.

1928D, 1939, 1940(3), 1941, 1942, 1944(3), 1944D, 1945, 1946(2), 1948, 1948D, 1950, 1951, 1952(2), 1953, 1953D, 1955D, 1956(2), 1956D, 1957, 1957D, 1958(3), 1958D

Found: 2 pennies

I rounded up just a small amount of coin ... again ...

55 small dollars had nothing.

2,400 quarters produced one silver Washington (1964), one Canadian and one Bermuda 25¢.

50 dimes and 40 nickels had nothing.

200 pennies turned up two Wheats (1947, 1956D) and three Canadians.

Found: 1 penny

I did fairly well with yesterday's coins.

180 small dollars and 6 halves had nothing.

2,000 quarters produced one silver Washington (1959D) and seven Canadians.

3,500 dimes yielded two silver Rosies (1954D, 1962), six Canadians, four Bermuda 10¢, three US pennies and one UK 5 pence.

2,000 nickels rounded up one War Time (1943P), four Canadians (2 Ni), one US penny, one Bermuda 5¢ and one Euro 5¢.

5,500 pennies turned up twenty-eight Wheats, thirty-five Canadians, one US dime, one Euro 1¢, one Euro 2¢, one Euro 10¢, one Australian 1¢ and one UK penny.

19??, 1921, 1928(2), 1935, 1940, 1941(2), 1942(2), 1944, 1946(3), 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1953D(2), 1956, 1956D, 1957D(2), 1958(2), 1958D(2)

Found: 1 quarter

Hmmmm, I still haven't been turning up too much coin ...

1,120 quarter didn't have anything.

1,300 dimes produced one silver Rosie (1956) and three Canadians.

720 nickels yielded two Canadians (1 Ni) and one US penny.

1,000 pennies had nothing.

Found: 1 penny

Here's a bunch of good, fun kid pictures Meg took (before it started to rain!).











4 large dollars, 108 small dollars and 7 halves produced one proof dollar (2004S). The proof is a bit cloudy, but it is a new one for me!

1,360 quarters turned up just one Canadian.

4,750 dimes produced five silver Rosies (1954D, 1956, 1958, 1962D, 1964), five Canadians, one Belgium 1 franc, one UK 5 pence, one Polish 10 Grozy and one Spanish 5 Pesetas.



1,920 nickels yielded two War Times (1945P, 1945S), four Canadians (1 Ni), one Bahamas 5¢ (1966) and one Cayman Islands 10¢.

4,800 pennies got me thirty-eight Wheats, forty-eight Canadians, one US dime, one US nickel and one Bahamas 1¢.

1919, 1919S, 1930, 1936, 1939, 1940(2), 1941(2), 1942, 1944, 1945, 1946(4), 1947, 1948, 1948S, 1955D, 1956, 1956D(9), 1957D(3), 1958(3), 1958D

Found: 1 penny

This weekend went pretty well for us.

Things started off right on Friday with a slow, but relaxing (two well behaved, self amused kids!) dinner at Friendly's. On Saturday Henry and I went to Target and Blue Home Depot (Lowes) to pick up some stuff. Henry found himself a dump truck and we got Hazel a new baby doll (this one is more realistic than her others, she doesn't get too many new toys it seems). Hazel really liked her doll when we got home. She gave it lots of love (kisses, hugs and pats). We went to a birthday party for one of Henry's friends and when we got home and Hazel went for a nap, Henry took over the doll. He played with it for a couple hours, even bringing it along to Trader Joe's with Meg. We were surprised because he never said he wanted one. Now Henry and Hazel "share" the doll. We might have to get two of them ... we'll see.

Sunday went pretty well too. Henry was really good at church, he helped me put out the rain barrels in the afternoon and in the early evening I took both he and Hazel to the science museum while Meg took a yoga class.

I didn't do too hot with this weekend's coins.

8,000 halves turned up just one 90% silver half (1964) and two 40% silver halves (1965, 1969D).

5,000 pennies yielded twenty-three Wheats, forty-six Canadians and one Bahamas 1¢. In the bunch was also a new modern one for me, the 2011.

1926, 1930, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1949D, 1950S, 1953D, 1954D(2), 1955, 1956D(2), 1957(3), 1957D(2), 1958(2), 1958D

Found: 1 penny, 1 quarter

A coin update ...

125 large dollars, 401 small dollars and 6 halves produced one mint set dollar (2002P).

1,280 quarters had nothing.

2,500 dimes yielded two silver Rosies (1958D, 1964), one Canadian, one UK 5 pence and one Malta 2¢ (1991). The coin from Malta is a new country for me!



1,120 nickels turned up three Canadians and two Bermuda 5¢.

4,900 pennies produced twenty-seven Wheats, fifty Canadians, two US dimes, one Euro 2¢, one UK penny, one Bermuda 1¢ and one Taiwan 1 Yuan.

1909 V.D.B., 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944(2), 1945(2), 1945S, 1946(3), 1947, 1948, 1950D(2), 1952S, 1953, 1954D, 1955, 1956, 1956D(3), 1957D

Found: 5 pennies, 1 quarter, 1 foreign coin (a Thailand 1 Baht)

This week Henry was goofing around a put on the Baby Bjorn. He wanted to put Hazel in there. We told him no so he put Duck inside.



For some reason my coin pickups have been pretty light this week. I guess people were too busy celebrating Mother's Day and weren't able to roll up their coins.

3 small dollars and 12 halves had nothing.

2,440 quarters produced one proof quarter (2000S VA), three Canadians, two US nickels, two US pennies, one Austrian 5 Shilling and one Irish 5 pence (1976, larger size than the others I've found). It had been two months since I found my last proof quarter so finding this was pretty cool.



1,750 dimes turned up just five Canadians and one Panama 10¢.

1,160 nickels yielded three War Times (1943P, 1944P, 1945P) and six Canadians (2 Ni).

It feels like the War Times have been turned up left and right, but the silver dimes have been really sparse lately.

3,800 pennies rounded up twenty-seven Wheats (including one Steel), fifty-five Canadians, two US dimes and one Euro 2¢.

1918, 1920, 1937, 1940, 1941, 1942(2), 1942D, 1943, 1944(3), 1945, 1946, 1948(2), 1950(2), 1952D(2), 1956, 1956D(3), 1957D(2), 1958D

Yesterday I rounded up just a bit of coin.

27 small dollars, 1,600 quarters, 350 dimes and 240 nickels didn't produce anything.

700 pennies had four Canadians and one US nickel.

Found: 1 penny

Happy Mother's Day ...Where Ah You Dad!?

Happy Mother's Day everyone! It was a bit crazy at our house, but we had some good memories as always that helped to counter balance the crankiness, etc. Here are some pictures.



Meg wanted a picture of her with the kids, but Henry wasn't into the idea. Cousin Liam was!



Henry and Cousin Liam.





Henry helped me in the yard a bit. It was a great time. He listens pretty well when I tell him to, "seed lightly." We were quite a sight with our two wheelbarrows. He asked lots of cute questions.



Henry took a break from working to play with Hazel. He then when inside to watch me with Hazel.

It's hard to remember all of the things Henry says, but one I particularly like was his saying very loudly downstairs today at 5:30AM (before Meg and I were up), "Dad, where ah you?" It was the first time he got up and went downstairs before either of us.

8,000 half dollars rounded up eight 90% silver halves (1934, 1963D, 6 x 1964), eighty-two 40% silver halves (2 x 1965, 16 x 1966, 26 x 1967, 24 x 1968D, 14 x 1969D) and one proof half (1984S).



This Walking Liberty half wasn't a new one for me, but it was a pretty good one and I haven't been able to put up a picture of a new one for some time!

5,000 pennies yielded forty-five Wheats and thirty Canadians.

1921, 1935D, 1936(2), 1937, 1939, 1940(2), 1941(4), 1942(3), 1944(2), 1945, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1950D, 1951, 1953, 1953D(4), 1954, 1955(3), 1956, 1956D(4), 1957(2), 1957D(2), 1958D(3)

Found: 1 dime

Just a quick coin posting ...

2,760 small dollars produced nine mint set dollars (3 x 2002P, 2003D, 2004P, 2004D, 2006P, 2007D, 2008D).

18 half dollars had nothing.

1,800 quarters had just two Canadians.

300 pennies turned up six Wheats and four Canadians.

1919, 1936, 1945, 1949, 1955, 1957D

Found: 1 dime, 2 foreign coins (1 Thai 1 Baht, 1 UK penny), 1 game token

Yesterday Meg met up with a college buddy to go the science museum. She has two kids near Henry's age so it works out really well. They had a lot of fun there even though Henry insists that they are "Mom's friends." Henry was particularly into gears, pulleys, planets, dinosaurs and the escalator. Hazel did pretty well there too Meg said. I wish I could have joined them.





249 small dollars produced one Canadian $1.

3,600 quarters yielded one silver Washington (1942), one Canadian, one UK 10 pence and one US nickel.

1,800 dimes had just six Canadians.

1,040 nickels turned up two War Times (1943P, 1943S), ten Canadians (1 Ni), one US penny and one Greek 1 Drachma (1967).



5,250 pennies rounded up twenty-five Wheats, thirty-three Canadians, two US dimes and one Euro 1¢.

1911, 1920, 1929, 1939, 1940, 1941(2), 1942D, 1944(3), 1945, 1946(2), 1948, 1949D, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1955D(2), 1956D, 1957, 1957D(2)

2,920 quarters turned up just eight Canadians and one Bahamas 25¢.

1,600 dimes were also not much fun. They only had one Canadian.

1,080 nickels produced one War Time (1943P), one Canadian and one Bermuda 5¢.

16,850 pennies turned up one proof penny (1987S), one hundred thirteen Wheats, one hundred twenty Canadians, five US dimes, two UK pennies, two Euro 2¢, one Trinidad and Tobago 1¢ and one Russian 50 Kopek. The proof penny is only the second I've found in rolls. It's in great shape. Only 4,227,728 were minted and so this one is now my third rarest by mintage.



1917, 1929, 1930, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940(9), 1940S, 1941(2), 1941D, 1942(6), 1942D(2), 1944(9), 1945(6), 1945S, 1946(6), 1946S, 1947(2), 1948(5), 1950, 1951(4), 1951D(2), 1952(5), 1952D(5), 1953(2), 1953D(5), 1955(4), 1956(2), 1956D(11), 1957(4), 1957D(4), 1958(5), 1958D(4)

Found: 3 pennies

What I Dream About?

Yesterday Meg took Hazel to the doctor. It seems she has another ear infection. We're hoping the medicine kicks in soon because she hasn't been herself for days now. (Unfortunately Henry is jealous of her getting medicine and tells us he doesn't feel well and needs medicine too ... it was cute the first time.)

This morning Henry started a conversation with a familiar question, "What I dream about?" "I don't know. What did you dream about?," was Meg's response. He then told us how he had a dream about teeny tiny green balls and how he was pretending Nonnie was there and then she was there with him. The night before he had a dream about his friend Owen. He was at our house and eating with Henry in the dream. I guess sleeping on the floor has been good for dreaming!

Meg and I have also wondered lately when Henry will say his sister's name correctly. He still refers to her mostly as something close to "Dizz," but at Trader Joe's this weekend he finally said "Hazel" with a special emphasis on the "HAZE." "Why Evan call Dizz that?" he said. We explained. Now he calls Hazel by her name about 1/3 of the time.

1 large dollar, 78 small dollars and 1,280 quarters didn't have anything.

2,400 dimes produced five Canadians and one Aruba 10¢.

2,480 nickels yielded two War Times (1943P, 1944P), two Canadians, two US dimes, one Red Sox token, one Italian 50 Lire and a Indian 50 Paise. The Indian coin is a new one for me.

It was a another busy weekend for us and it was pretty crazy at some points, but we had some good times too and got some house stuff done.

On Friday we went to Old Sturbridge Village. We weren't there very long, but it was a really nice day out and was great to walk around. It felt really good to be able to eat outside again and not wear jackets. In the evening we went to the "red chicken place" (Indian) for takeout. Henry asked for a lollipop, but instead got a free mango shake. He was very happy with it and finished it before we were halfway home.

On Saturday and Sunday we worked outside a lot to create two raised beds for gardening. Even with the mini-van we took many trips to Home Depot to get soil and manure for the garden. It was difficult to determine just how much soil we needed in the beds. We might have to add more after a good rain comes as well. Meg also reorganized our sun room, the living room and the kids' rooms. It feels good to have gotten all this done.

Unfortunately we had a few meltdowns this weekend and Hazel still seems really off. We're hoping the doctor can give us some cure. Henry's sleep situation has improved somewhat. His remedy has been to voluntarily sleep on the floor through the night ... whatever works!



Hazel in a summer tank top.



Hazel at OSV playing in the play garden.



Henry play shoveling.



Meg and Hazel watching some sheep. Hazel seemed to really like watching them.

Forty large dollars didn't have anything.

1,121 small dollars produced one proof dollar (2010S Franklin Pierce) and twelve mint set dollars (5 x 2002P, 2002D, 2004D, 2005P, 3 x 2005D, 2008D). The proof is in pretty good condition.



(I'm really going to have to spend some time perfecting my photos of these dollar proofs. On some of the better condition ones, like this one, I can see a really nice cameo effect at certain angles. I've seen online pictures of coins come out with this effect, but attempts to get it have been hit-or-miss.)

8,049 half dollars turned up six 40% silver halves (2 x 1966, 2 x 1967, 2 x 1968D) and five proofs (1979S, 1982S, 1983S, 2000S, 2008S).

1,700 dimes had nothing.

400 nickels yielded just one Canadian (1 Ni).

11,800 pennies rounded up fifty-four Wheats, ninety-eight Canadians, two US dimes, two UK pennies and one Bermuda 1¢.

1918, 1923, 1924S, 1925, 1935(2), 1939, 1940(3), 1941, 1942(3), 1944(8), 1945, 1946(3), 1946S, 1947(2), 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952(2), 1952D(2), 1953, 1953D, 1953S, 1955, 1955D, 1956(3), 1956D(3), 1957(2), 1957D(2), 1958(2)

Found: 3 pennies, 1 dime