I got a wheat penny in change yesterday, somewhere in Corona. I used to collect these when I was a kid but have not noticed one in a long time.
Wheat Penny, 1951
Interesting coins remind me how my mother and I hoarded bicentennial quarters, certain they would come to be worth far more than their 25¢ face value. We collected maybe $100 worth of those quarters in a fancy leather bag. As time accumulated, and the value of the quarters did not, the bag became an albatross, one that that we simply could not bear to unload by spending the quarters on pinball machines and payphone calls.
So it was something of a relief when the house got robbed and the thief made off with the bag of bicentennial quarters and a few other things. I was at college when it happened. My mother called with the news and both of us laughed over the loss of the satchel of bicentennial quarters, saying that if we couldn’t bear to get rid of it then maybe this was a signal that some other force would do it for us.
I don’t remember what else got stolen but mother remarked that the burglar took a huge dump in the downstairs bathroom and did not flush. She said that was classic burglar behavior. I took her word for it.
