Coin Geek.

Confession time on Nepper's Landing. I am a self-professed coin geek. Of course, being a coin geek isn't actually geeky when you are 88 and have been doing it since 1923. Then coin collecting is actually cool. Back when coins were actually hip, and the monarchy was changing on a fairly regular basis. Nope, not anymore. Now old Lizzie just keeps on truckin'. Just been on the throne for oh, I don't know, 59 years!

Yup, I'm officially a coin geek.

I think I come by my love for rare and unusual coins honestly. My Grandma always had a fairly fantastic coin collection that I loved to sort through as a kid. The best part was that even though it was probably worth a good amount of money, the top-secret hiding spot was behind their living room drapes. And the one time they did get broken into, the theft totally missed their valuable coin collection. Who knew 1970's mustard yellow drapes worked so well as a home security device?

When my Granddad died in 2007, I went to spend time with my Grandma and my Mom. Abbi came along too. It was a sad time, but it was so nice just to be together and share in each others sorrow. One of my tasks during my visit was also to roll the coins from the jars that she and my Grandpa used to hold their winnings from their daily games of Smear. And yes, it actually makes me love them just a little bit more, knowing that they played each other for money, daily. Of course, Grandma's jar had considerably more money it, and it is said that I have somehow inherited her good luck with all of my contest winnings.

During this visit, my Grandma also decided that it was time to give me her coin collection as she knew how much I loved it. The only catch was that it was located in their crawl space (they had moved into a new home, and the 1970's mustard yellow curtains had been retired from service). If you know me, I easily get spooked and don't do well with small, dirty spaces. Ugh. I shudder just thinking of it. If I wanted that coin collection, I would have to go and get it. "Oh and by the way, we did have a mice problem a few years back, but I'm pretty sure Grandpa took care of it with some poison." Gee, thanks.

I think, if anything, the sole purpose of gifting me with the coin collection was for comic relief during a very sad time. As I was crawling along on my hands and knees under their house, through dust and dirt, I could hear my Mom and Grandma up the small stairwell, chuckling away at my misfortune. They have a very similar laugh, and it was almost eerie to hear this cackle in the background as I'm crawling along in the dark, with my trusty flashlight. To my horror, there just happened to be a mouse trap, complete with a long-dead mouse, right beside the coin box. Ugh. I let out a shriek to rival all shrieks from the basement, which led to another roar of cackles from the main floor.

Possibly even more comical than me retrieving the collection from the basement was me trying to sort through the collection, fearing more dead mice remains. This took place on their patio with their garden hose, which forced me to stifle my shrieks. They still sat back with coffees in hand, laughing away at my misfortune.

Perhaps this story is an excellent example at my willingness to put up with most anything to get a good deal. But more importantly, I treasure this collection of coins that my Grandma has held onto throughout the years and has had so much significance in my life. One day I hope to somehow display this collection as it holds so much sentimental value for me.

I've also loved working in retail over the years, because almost daily a customer would give me money from a far away land to pay for their $14.99 way-too-tights jeans or their ridiculously overpriced $4.99 latte. I would often keep extra change in my pocket so that I could swap out the coins. Eep, can I admit this? The best one was when some customers from the States paid me for an item with five $1 Canadian bills. Poor souls didn't know any better. I've also had friends bring me back treasures from their travels. I realize countries advise against this practice, but really France, have you even missed that Franc? Doubtful.

I was reading a blog post recently about NOT collecting things. Any things. While I generally would concur with them, in this instance, I quite love my little coin collection. And technically if I ever decide against it, I'll have a fairly sweet consolation prize.