Remembering the Penny
A youthful collector of coins recalls his pursuit
The penny will live on in memory and in coin collections, like Harold Witkov’s. In this “From Our Readers,” he recalls his youthful pursuit of particularly valuable coins.
I knew it had to happen and it finally did. November 12 of this year marked the last day the U.S. government would be minting pennies. As a lover of coins who began his collecting sojourn back in the 1960s, I could have much to say on the subject of the demise of the penny. But rather than getting into the pros and cons behind the decision, I prefer to share a penny’s worth of memories instead.
Let me start with my wonderful mom. She would regularly go to the bank with the expressed mission of bringing home several rolls of 50 pennies so I could carefully pick through them, thus giving me a better chance to fill the empty spaces in my all-important Lincoln Head Cent collection books.
Then there is my 1899 Indian Head penny. My neighbor down the street owned his own coin shop. When he found out I had started coin collecting, to encourage me, no doubt, he gave it to me out of the goodness of his heart. I had a few Indian Heads at the time, but unlike this one that was in excellent condition, they were badly worn. It may have been a small sacrifice on his part, but it sure meant a lot to me.
And my 1853 Large Cent penny. I have a friend from my kindergarten days and he also collected coins. We would sleep over at one another’s house and trade coins after lengthy negotiations. As soon as we shook on it we each boasted to one another: “I made the better deal!” I obtained my 1853 Large Cent in one of those trades. Even now, when we talk long distance, I tell him how I really took him on that one!
My coin collection also boasts a dozen steel pennies. These pennies have great historical significance. World War II was in full swing and copper was essential for the wartime effort (ammunition, etc.). It needed to be conserved. So in 1943the U.S. Mint decided to replace the copper penny with a zinc-coated steel penny instead. The only pennies that respond to a magnet!
And there is the rare penny that I forever pursued, never obtained, but is a permanent part of my coin collecting mentality. That penny was the holy grail coin every youthful collector like myself hunted for, fantasized about, but never found in change, penny rolls, and certainly could not afford to purchase at a coin shop or show. It was the ever-elusive 1909S VDB, and there were only 484,000 of them minted. That might sound like a large number, but it is a minuscule mint number when it comes to pennies. I could afford to buy one now, but what fun is that? The fun was in the hunt!
Finally, there is the penny that I once had in my possession that I did not save — to my chagrin. It was the soon-to-be smooshed penny that I had placed on a railroad track not far from my house that I had bicycled to with a couple of my buddies. Thanks to a passing commuter train it became flat, oblong, and the image of Abraham Lincoln was stretched unrecognizable. It was my lucky penny. Lucky for me it didn’t get me killed that is! That’s right, I could have been hit by the train, a passing train from the opposite direction, or the penny could have become a lethal projectile that ended my life, or one of my pals. Oh how I wish I had saved that penny. It would have served as a reminder of all the foolish indiscretions of my youth, and helped me to remember to thank God for keeping me around for this long.
Yes, all the above-mentioned pennies are special to me and have a place in my heart, as do all pennies. Alas poor pennies, I knew you well. Fare thee well my friends.
Harold Witkov lives in the Chicago area and is retired. He worked 31 years in textbook sales. He is a writer and his specialty is the personal narrative.
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