There are not many options!

The first coin I ever owned was given to me as a birth gift by my paternal grandfather. It is a 1907 Liberty $2.50 gold piece. Several years ago I had it slabbed by PCGS (one of my "free" gradings for being a paid member), and was pleased it found itself in a MS65 holder.

On my mother's side, the giving of coins to newborns was practiced as well. She was born in Ohio in May of 1933. When her father went to the bank to get a 1933 coin, options were few. The only denominations dated 1933 released from the mints were the cent, the half dollar (San Francisco only), and $10 gold (no longer available). (And if you do not know the story of the 1933 double eagles, it is worth getting one of the recent books about them.) Rather than settling for a cent, he opted to give her a loftier coin from a neighboring year.

My mother had told me that this coin was a gold coin dated 1932, but she could not describe it to me. Even when I described the options ($10 Indian and $20 St. Gaudens), she could not tell me anything other than that it was small. With that, and looking at the populations and prices, one would assume it was the $10, but could hope for the Saint! (And among non-gold denominations, only the cent and quarter were available.)

Well, I got to find out the day after Christmas. Her bank had closed, so she had retrieved her belongings from her safe deposit box, and had them at her home when I visited. This was an unexpected surprise. I had assumed I would find out only after she passes. But there she was, getting the coin to show me.

She had it wrapped in wax paper. As she unwrapped it, it did look strangely small. She handed it to me. I carefully picked it up to examine. With my contact lenses, I cannot see up close very well, and I did not have a loupe with me. But I certainly could recognize the denomination by size and design. I thought I could make out the date, but needed to ask my son to confirm it. We were looking at a 1906 $2.50 gold piece, not a coin from 1932.

But there was a second coin, a larger one. It turned out to be just one year different from her birth year. But it was not gold, and was not from 1932. It was a 1934 Peace Dollar.

Both coins would probably be graded as AU. Thus, neither one is numismatically special. But they are treasured nevertheless, as gifts from her father, who died when she was a teenager, long before I was born.

I have no indication what her will says, and am not going to ask. But none of my siblings have any interest in coins. So I suspect that those coins will someday be mine. If so, I will keep them as my mother has - as a reminder of my grandfather. Though I never knew him, I believe he played a significant, though indirect role in me becoming the person I am. But that is another story.

On the numismatic side of things, what story might I have if he had been able to get that 1933 $10 gold piece?! Or the $20...

Happy New Year to all, and Congratulations to all the award winners. Happy collecting...

Alan