I usually keep these blog posts
limited to writing suggestions and book promotions, but, because of curious
folks, I’ll clue you in to some of the things about my life that aren’t
generally known.
Today, I’ll talk about my coin
collection.
I collect coins. I’ve had a
fascination with them since I was a child, but I didn’t really get into
full-blown collecting until around 2010 or 2011…I don’t remember which year.
I don’t know what fascinates me
about coins. They’re only small pieces of metal stamped with different
denominations and depictions of funny-looking men.
When I was a kid, I used to love
looking at pocket change, finding the dates and being fascinated with coins that
were minted in years before I was born. It was amazing to me! I would find one
that was, say, ten years older than me, and I’d think about the fact that it
existed long before I did.
As I got older, I was fascinated
by the potential piece of history that I held in my hand. Who held this coin
before I did? Where has this coin traveled in its existence?
I also was fascinated by coins
from other countries. When I was young, it was mostly Canadian coins mixed in
sporadically with pocket change. When I received a Canadian penny or a Canadian
nickel in pocket change from spending my allowance, I would examine them with a
robust curiousity. Who was this lady with the crown? Why did this penny have a
maple leaf? Why did this nickel have a beaver? And why didn’t our coins have
neat stuff like that?
Now, as an adult, I still find
myself fascinated by the history of coins. I hold a quarter from the 1940s, and
I wonder if, perhaps, it had been touched by some of my film favorites, like
Lou Costello, John Wayne, or James Stewart…or, maybe, by a figure from history,
like Franklin D. Roosevelt or Albert Einstein. I hold coins from the thirties,
and I wonder the same things. Anyone could have touched them! The Marx
Brothers, Al Capone, one of the Three Stooges, John Dillinger, maybe Bonnie, or
Clyde, or both! Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Marilyn Monroe...maybe one
of the construction workers that built the Empire State Building used a quarter
from the thirties to buy lunch for a day. The list is endless!
And, I am still fascinated by
coins from around the world. I have coins from all sorts of different
countries. The same sense of wonder and possibility accompanies them…at least
in my mind. I have a couple of early English pennies dated in the late 1700s,
and I wonder who could have touched them. Did British royalty handle them? Or
did one of our founding fathers touch them? British coinage was still used in
the United States even after the Revolutionary War, so it’s possible.
History fascinates me…and coins
bring that history directly to my hand.
Coins also bring the world to me,
too. I have coins from Japan, Korea, China, Italy, Greece, the Isle Of Man,
Samoa, Ireland, Mexico…far more countries than I care to list. With each coin,
the history comes with it…overwhelming in its potential. It could be the big
names from history, or just an average person living day-to-day. Who held it?
Did it bring riches to them, or that day’s bread? Where has this coin traveled,
and how did it wind up within my area of collection?
I also have a fascination with
the metal that makes up coins. I have silver coins, copper coins, aluminum
coins, zinc coins, steel coins...the list is endless.
That’s one of my collections…and
a lot of the reason that I collect them.
Nothing book related in this
particular blog…but, I hope I’ve given you a small insight into me. If you’re
interested, of course.
Remember, though, that I AM an
author…and YOU need to…
Keep reading!
T. M. Bilderback (But you can call me Michael)
Follow me on Twitter:
@mrtmbilderback
Check me out on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/TMBilderback
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