p e n n i e s
11.26.06
Finally, after years of litigation,
my smashed penny collection can for the first time be seen
on the web. I've just added more than a dozen new pennies thanks to
friends, family and friends unknown! My latest pennies include
those from Tucson, Bowling Green, Key West and Yorktown with
stories for each!
It's been a banner month for the
smashed penny collection! Arriving from the wild west, midwest,
historical sites of the Southeast and the southern most point in
the United States, these pennies have diverse background.
Not terribly long ago, my client and friend Myrta Pulliam was headed off on yet another jaunt and had some computer issues to hammer out before her trip. As we were working on her technology problems, I asked if she'd be so kind as to indulge my crazy habit on her next trip, should the opportunity arise. Myrta, never one to mince words, let me know that my hobby was nothing short of nuts. Of course, I know this, but that's what makes it fun!
Given her reaction, I figured a smashed penny from the wild west was probably not to be, but much to my surprise and elation, her trip to Arizona did indeed yield a new penny for my collection.
Here's where it gets interesting: Myrta never even turned the crank or pushed the button to get my penny, but rather Maryann Nock, a complete stranger (and friend of Myrta's) did me the service of procuring my first Arizona penny!
Maryann says it best:
Many, many thanks for Maryann for being such a good sport! I owe you one! And, for those of you still following along, if you have a penny you'd like to send my way, by all means, please do! Contact me for my mailing address and you'll get a (as yet undetermined) prize of some sort in return!
Very shortly after receiving Maryann's penny, the lot of us were off to Bowling Green in an RV, where the surrounding area yield rich pickings!
Not a week thereafter, my Mom rings me from Florida where she and my Step-Dad Russ spend their winters. My Step-Brother Steve had come to visit with a nice new penny in hand from Yorktown, Va.
The three of them were then off to Key West for a three day weekend, where they (from what I hear) drove around in electric golf-carts collecting smashed pennies. (Yes, my mother approves of my odd habit and, in fact, is an enabler.) They smashed one for me at the aquarium and then one (my personal favorite) at Hemingway's place, with the mark of the polydacty cats. Andrea (my wife) and I are weird cat people, so this penny satiates two of my oddities!
My Mom (Lynda Cline) tells me that she tried to get a penny for me at Ripley's Believe It Or Not, but they wouldn't let her in to get the penny unless she paid the full price of admission! Little do they know that I already have their silly penny so bully to them! The good folks at the Hemingway House let her in (without having to pay admission) to get my penny.
The final penny comes from a location unknown (to me). My Mom stamped it for me, but the machine was in poor working condition, so the penny was only 1/4 stamped and mostly just smashed, prompting Steve and Russ (my Step-Dad) to tell my Mom to throw it away. Thankfully, she talked to me the same day and was able to fish it from the rubbish heap. If there's anything better than a weird collection of smashed pennies, it's a mis-smashed penny from Key West. In 100 years, it'll be worth a good $1 for sure!
Explore the entire collection within!
Not terribly long ago, my client and friend Myrta Pulliam was headed off on yet another jaunt and had some computer issues to hammer out before her trip. As we were working on her technology problems, I asked if she'd be so kind as to indulge my crazy habit on her next trip, should the opportunity arise. Myrta, never one to mince words, let me know that my hobby was nothing short of nuts. Of course, I know this, but that's what makes it fun!
Given her reaction, I figured a smashed penny from the wild west was probably not to be, but much to my surprise and elation, her trip to Arizona did indeed yield a new penny for my collection.
Here's where it gets interesting: Myrta never even turned the crank or pushed the button to get my penny, but rather Maryann Nock, a complete stranger (and friend of Myrta's) did me the service of procuring my first Arizona penny!
Maryann says it best:
So there you have it, folks, smashed pennies can lead you to places untold and yield a story to boot. Really, it's a much healthier habit than most!I found the place pretty easily. It was a western town, pretty cute as thosethings go, with a big steakhouse restaurant somewhere nearby. But thestreets were deserted - closed. You could kind of wander through town, whichI did, looking for a machine outside. It was kind of creepy - visions of oldmovies (horror, not western) popped in my head. Then I came across a crustyold guy a Security t-shirt on. I explained to him what I was looking for,and at first, he said I'd have to come back at 4:30 p.m. when the placeopened. We talked some more about the penny and my mission for a friend'sfriend, and he eventually took me back to the Shooting Gallery, thinking itmight be inside there. He unlocked the door, we found the machine, pluggedit in, and made the penny. It was amusing all around.
Many, many thanks for Maryann for being such a good sport! I owe you one! And, for those of you still following along, if you have a penny you'd like to send my way, by all means, please do! Contact me for my mailing address and you'll get a (as yet undetermined) prize of some sort in return!
Very shortly after receiving Maryann's penny, the lot of us were off to Bowling Green in an RV, where the surrounding area yield rich pickings!
Not a week thereafter, my Mom rings me from Florida where she and my Step-Dad Russ spend their winters. My Step-Brother Steve had come to visit with a nice new penny in hand from Yorktown, Va.
The three of them were then off to Key West for a three day weekend, where they (from what I hear) drove around in electric golf-carts collecting smashed pennies. (Yes, my mother approves of my odd habit and, in fact, is an enabler.) They smashed one for me at the aquarium and then one (my personal favorite) at Hemingway's place, with the mark of the polydacty cats. Andrea (my wife) and I are weird cat people, so this penny satiates two of my oddities!
My Mom (Lynda Cline) tells me that she tried to get a penny for me at Ripley's Believe It Or Not, but they wouldn't let her in to get the penny unless she paid the full price of admission! Little do they know that I already have their silly penny so bully to them! The good folks at the Hemingway House let her in (without having to pay admission) to get my penny.
The final penny comes from a location unknown (to me). My Mom stamped it for me, but the machine was in poor working condition, so the penny was only 1/4 stamped and mostly just smashed, prompting Steve and Russ (my Step-Dad) to tell my Mom to throw it away. Thankfully, she talked to me the same day and was able to fish it from the rubbish heap. If there's anything better than a weird collection of smashed pennies, it's a mis-smashed penny from Key West. In 100 years, it'll be worth a good $1 for sure!
Explore the entire collection within!
|