Creating a "Family Heirloom"

A few days ago, I was looking through the few rolls of Statehood Quarters that I put away before losing interest. Obviously,this is not a prime collecting area for me. I began thinking about how many rolls and partial sets of these coins are tucked away in households all over the country.

What a shame- All of the government money and effort that has gone into promoting these coins, and it appears that we are not going to reach "escape velocity". My thoughts then turned to the question, "What viable means exist to derive some collecting value from these coins?" By this, I mean non-monetary value.

Here's the idea seed that popped from my tiny brain.

What if a family secured one of those mass-produced SQ coin maps, and filled it with circulated coins? Brilliant idea, eh?

Well, here's the twist. A coin can only be filled after the family has travelled to the site depicted (ie. Washington's Crossing, Old Man in the Mountain, Indianapolis, etc), or the State's Capitol, or any other rule that the family cares to create. The key is that the collection is created and grows based upon the family achieving a "shared goal" of travelling to the site.

The second twist is that the coin to be entered into the collection must be circulated. Now here comes the punch line- the family members have a competition to find the appropriate State Quarter in circulation (no matter how long it takes). When it's found, an accompanying note is included with the collection, stating:

-Who found the coin

-Where

-When

-Any circumstances: lying on the sidewalk, in change while buying lunch, etc.

Now here's a one-of-a-kind collection that will probably not be forgotten quickly. Imagine a Thanksgiving dinner, 25 years later, where Mary is showing her kids the journal of how she found 28 of the eligible quarters, while her "lazy" brother found a mere 3.

If nothing more, it will give families something new to fight about during the holiday!

So, what do you think- a viable idea?

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!!