A Million Pennies, A Million Miles

For the past few days I have been in California on a business trip, a developer conference. So far the conference has been OK, but being away from Meg and Henry has been more difficult than I imagined. I feel so far. Tonight I even had a pretty tough time eating dinner at a restaurant because I was seated next to two small boys. I feel like I'm missing something. I definitely can't wait to get back. I'm really looking forward to Halloween.

Before I left and I did some coin roll hunting. I didn't find too much for my efforts.

I searched 6,600 quarters and found just five Canadians.

600 dimes didn't yield anything.

240 nickels turned up four Canadians (1 Ni).

I also searched a big batch of pennies. 5,100 of them produced seventeen Wheats and three Canadians. The Wheats were:

1939, 1940, 1941(2), 1945, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1950D, 1952D, 1953D, 1955(2), 1956(2), 1957, 1957D

While here I've tried to go absolutely crazy on pennies. I've used my non-conference time as best I can to accumulate, sort, and dispose of pennies. Along the way I've picked up some other stuff as well.

I rounded up seven large dollars and one hundred fifty-two half dollars. In them I found only two 40% silver halves (1967, 1969D). Oh well, that's better than nothing and it wasn't much of an extra effort.

I also searched 450 dimes, but they didn't produce anything. I got a 2008D dime in change.

At various banks I asked for presidential dollars and state quarters I didn't have. I know I could find these eventually at home, but it seemed a bit easier just to ask for them here. I got three state quarters, New Mexico 2008D, Arizona 2008D and Alaska 2008D. I also got three presidential dollars Monroe 2008D, John Quincy Adams 2008D and Andrew Jackson 2008D.

And lastly I searched a tremendous amount of pennies. My efforts almost triple my previous West Coast penny binges. I guess I've just gotten better and faster. In total I've searched 44,950 pennies! I would have searched more of them if I could as my chances of finding new ones here are just so much greater, but I can't do any more. With these pennies I have surpassed my 2008 goal of a million pennies searched! In them I found one hundred forty-three Wheats, forty Canadians, thirteen US dimes, one Netherlands 1¢, one Hong Kong 1¢, one Bahamas 1¢, one German 2 Pfennig, one UK penny, one Euro 2¢, one Philippines 25¢ and one Philippines 5¢. The Wheats included three I needed, 1925S, 1936S, 1939D! It felt great to find those new ones, especially the two from the 30's as it has been a while since I've found new ones from that decade. Finding a bunch of new foreign coins was a great bonus as well. The complete Wheat breakdown is:

1917, 1919, 1925S, 1930, 1935D, 1936(3), 1936S, 1938, 1939D, 1940(2), 1940S, 1941, 1942(4), 1942D, 1942S, 1944(5), 1944D(3), 1944S(5), 1945(3), 1945S(3), 1946(5), 1946D(3), 1946S(5), 1947D(2), 1947S(2), 1948D(3), 1948S(3), 1949, 1949D, 1949S(3), 1950, 1950D(2), 1951D(5), 1951S(4), 1952, 1952D(2), 1952S(3), 1953, 1953D(4), 1953S(3), 1954D(3), 1954S, 1955(3), 1955D(11), 1956(3), 1956D(16), 1957, 1957D(9), 1958, 1958D(21)









To top things off today I found the first bill, a one dollar bill, since January. Last time I was here I found one too.

Found: 2 dime (1 at Logan Airport, 1 at Wells Fargo), 1 quarter (at Logan Airport), 1 $1 bill (at WaMu)

Pumpkins!

Yesterday Meg, Henry and I went to a nearby farm. We went to get a pumpkin and some pumpkin pictures. The place also had a ton of goats in a caged petting area and a neat playground so we hung out in those places as well. Later in the day I took Henry over to a friend's house and he had a good time playing with other kids' toys. Lately, I've been proud to see just how well he plays with other kids. He even handles himself pretty well when amongst older kids.

I searched twenty-nine large dollars at the bank this morning, but didn't find anything.

Here are some other recent pictures of Henry I like.



Above is a good example of his smile as of late. He doesn't make much noise, but likes to show this expression when he's having a good time.



Now we have to make sure he doesn't rip up books! Perhaps he's interested in some of his Dad's history books?

Found: 1 penny (at Sovereign Bank), 1 nickel (at Sovereign Bank)

Family

Tonight we had a great family dinner. Meg made a beef stew dinner and we had my parents, sister, brother-in-law and nephews over. The boys all behaved well and and played together nicely. I had a particularly good time with my two nephews. There were some good moments there that'll I remember. I especially liked sharing a book about the Hindenburg with my older nephew (who told me 64 people were killed by the explosion, his number was off, but his curiosity was the important thing) and hearing my younger nephew use even more words than the last time we saw him. Henry handled everything very well.

I did a lot of coin searching last night and today during nap times.

67 small dollars didn't turn up anything.

The half dollars I searched continued my lucky streak. Hope things keep going. 8,0001 half dollars yielded eleven 90% silver halves (1952, 1953D, 9 x 1964), one hundred fifty-three 40% silver halves (10 x 1965, 22 x 1966, 49 x 1967, 35 1968D, 38 x 1969D, 1970S), twelve proofs (1970S, 1976S, 1978S, 1981S, 1983S, 1988S, 1992S, 1993S, 1994S, 2005S, 2006S), twenty-four mint set halves (2 x 2004P, 7 x 2004D, 2005P, 4 x 2006P, 8 x 2006D, 2007P, 2007D) and one Dominican Republic ½ Peso. In one box I found eight 90's, one hundred forty 40's and one proof. That was one awesome box! It feels good to have found so many proofs I needed, especially the 1970S. Less than 3 million of those were minted and it is only the second 40% silver proof I have found. The Dominican Republic coin was a first for me. It is worth 1.4¢.



I searched 160 quarters, too, but only came up with one Canadian.

I had better luck with the dimes. 3,700 of them produced two silver Rosies (1946, 1947), seven Canadians, one US penny, one Bermuda 10¢, one Belgian 1 franc (worth .0025€), one Israeli 1 New Shekel (worth 26.5¢), one Panama 10¢ and one Russian 10 Kopek (worth .3¢). That batch produced three foreign coins I had not found before, the Belgian, the Israeli and the Russian coins. The Russian coin is a good one for me, too, as it is the first coin I've found from that country.







I also did well with the nickels I searched. I went through 2,800 of them and found two War Times (1943P, 1945P), eight Canadians (4 Ni), three US dimes and two US pennies. The 1945P silver nickel is a great one. It has a double clipped planchette! I'll scan a pic of it soon.

Lastly, the pennies were OK. I looked through 3,600 pennies and turned up thirteen Wheats and twenty-four Canadians. The Wheats were:

1909, 1938, 1940, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1951, 1952, 1953D, 1954S, 1957D(2), 1958

Found: 2 pennies (1 at Sovereign Bank, 1 at Bank of America)

Moms' Night

Last night Meg finally got a chance to go out in the evening with her mom friends. I think they had a good time. Henry and I survived quite well on our own. We only had thirty minutes together, however, as he went to bed pretty soon after Meg left.

In Meg's absence I searched some coin and it went much better than the previous two nights.

123 small dollars and eight half dollars produced two 40% silver halves (2 x 1968D).

I also searched 960 quarters and found one silver Washington (1958D), four Canadians, one US nickel, one UK 10 pence, one French 10 Franc (worth €1.52*), two French 20 centimes (worth €.03*) and one Japanese 10 Yen (worth 10¢). Most of the foreign coins were all in one roll. It was great to get one new silver quarter and all of those odd foreign coins. The Japanese coin is the first coin I've found from that country in a roll.







I did pretty well with the dimes too. 2,150 dimes yielded three silver Rosies (1951, 1962D, 1963D), three Canadians, one Bermuda 10¢, one Italian 100 Lire (worth €.05*) and one Spanish 5 Ptas (worth €.03*).





In 680 nickels I found one War Time nickel (1943P).

I also searched 2,450 pennies and in them found twelve Wheats and twenty-six Canadians. The Wheats were:

19XX, 1928, 1940(2), 1945, 1946D, 1948, 1950, 1953D, 1955D, 1958, 1958D

* Most pre-Euro coins can no longer be exchanged for Euros.

Duck For Dinner

Tonight after a special anniversary dinner of duck, rice and brussel sprouts I searched some coin. The meal was great, the coins, not so hot.

160 quarters, 100 dimes, and 40 nickels turned up one Canadian quarter and four Canadian dimes.

I also searched 4,300 pennies and found fourteen Wheats, forty-six Canadians and one Bermuda 1¢. I found my twelfh Steelie in a roll. The Wheats were:

19XX, 1918, 1938, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1952D, 1953D, 1955, 1956D, 1957(2).

Found: 1 quarter (at work)

Anniversary

Today is our 2nd anniversary! It's been a quick two years with lots happening. This year we're celebrating. We meant to last year, but before we knew it too much time passed ... and that's when we didn't have Henry! What were we thinking? This week his grandparents will be out to visit with us, go to a conference and watch him for a bit while we go out to dinner.

Recently I've noticed how attached Henry has gotten to me (and Meg!). When I get home he is very excited to see me and if I have to go to the bathroom right after seeing him he can hardly stand it. I also find evidence of his affection in how he looks for reassurance to Meg and I when meeting with people he doesn't know too well. It's a good feeling.

I searched some coin last night, but it was only so-so, except for two new foreign coins.

One small dollar and 680 quarters didn't produce anything.

6,050 dimes turned up just one silver Rosie (1958D), twenty Canadians, one UK 5 pence, one Bermuda 10¢, one Swiss ½ franc and one Domincan Republic 10 Centavos. The DR coin is a new one for me. It is worth .2¢. I was hoping to find more silver dimes in that batch. Normally a batch of that size would produce at least two or three silvers.



2,640 nickels yielded one Buffalo (1918), nine Canadians (2 Ni), one US dime and one German 10 Pfennig. The Buffalo nickel has its date worn off, but Nic-A-Date showed it to be a 1918. Ther German coin is a new one for me.



Tonight I'll search the pennies I rounded up.

Found: 1 penny (at Steve & Barry's), 1 token (an arcade token at Sovereign Bank)

Franklins

This weekend's coin pickup was pretty good.

800 small dollars produced a mint set dollar (2003P).

8,058 half dollars yielded twenty-seven 90% silver halves (19??D, 2 x 1941, 2 x 1941S, 1942, 1947, 1948, 1950D, 1952, 2 x 1952D, 1953S, 3 x 1954D, 1958, 2 x 1958D, 2 x 1960D, 2 x 1963D, 4 x 1964), twenty-three 40% silver halves (2 x 1965, 3 x 1966, 4 x 1967, 9 x 1968D, 5 x 1969D), two proof halves (1980S, 1982S), five mint set halves (1987D, 2 x 2003D, 2004P, 2004D), one commemorative (1986S Statue of Liberty), a Bermuda 50¢, and a Kenya 5 Shilling (worth 65¢). One of the clad halves had a sticker on the back for Aunt Chilada's Easy Street Cafe, a Mexican restaurant in South Carolina. Most of the good coins came from one box and one bank stop. At one bank I asked for the teller if she had any loose halves. She gave me twenty-one coins. In them was sixteen 40% silver halves, one dateless Walker (probably a 1935D, but I'll put it in my "for jewelry pile") and a Bermuda 50¢. Not a bad score at all and that's the first Walker and foreign half I've gotten from a teller's tray. I was also glad to get two Franklins I needed, a new foreign coin and my fifth commemorative!





I also searched dimes, but 2,950 of them only turned up seven Canadians and two UK 5 pence pieces.

4,400 pennies were good. I them I found fifty-eight Wheats, forty-two Canadians, one Euro 2¢(Greece), one Euro 10¢(France), one UK penny and three US dimes. The Wheats were:

1912, 1918, 1919, 1926, 1940, 1941(5), 1942, 1943, 1944(3), 1945, 1945D, 1946(3), 1947, 1948(6), 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1952D, 1954, 1955(2), 1956(4), 1956D(3), 1957(3), 1957D(5), 1958D(3)



Found: 3 pennies (1 at Bank of America, 1 at White Hen Pantry, 1 outside a playground), 1 dime (outside a playground), 1 gift card (a Dunkin' Donuts card with 60¢ on it)