Coins and Currency: Your Magic Carpet to the Past
Joel Rettew
means of holding past events or people in the palm of your hand, pressing
them to your chest, breathing them in. feeling a direct link?
Coins and currency are your answer. They are a veritable magic carpet to the
past! Unlike photographs or other artifacts, money is tactile in a unique
way: By design, coins, in particular, are durable and virtually unchanged
from the day they were created - generally, if they've been circulated, they
may be nicked, scratched, and tarnished through wear, but, otherwise, their
form is "who they are," and who they always have been. Also, as a medium of
exchange, coins have one type of usage through generations of owners. It is
both their existence through time and presence in the lives of their holders
that make coins and currency witnesses to and vessels of history. and of
people's individual stories.
My first fantasy ride aboard a magic carpet to the past occurred on my
fifteenth birthday. With a gift of three Civil War tokens from my Aunt
Elaine, a long-held dream - finding a means of journeying to the past -
materialized immediately. The tokens were dated 1863 and served as one cent
pieces during an indisputably tumultuous period in our nation's history.
Their power was undeniable, as I felt myself being lifted from my existence
as a poor boy in Pennsylvania and flying back to the time of the American
Civil War. Who held these tokens and what items did they purchase? Could any
of the tokens have been in a soldier's pocket as he lay dying on a
blood-soaked battlefield? Holding the tokens in my hand, I closed my eyes
and visualized what American life must have been like in 1863: A relatively
small country of 22 million citizens embroiled in a savage war that pitted
American against American, brother against brother. Modern conveniences such
as electricity, automobiles, running water, and radios did not exist.
Information was disseminated by word of mouth and newspapers. Did these
little copper pieces purchase a daily periodical that bore the grim news of
yet another bloody battle? Over 600,000 souls were lost -- not counting
civilians -- in four short years that must have seemed like an eternity to
our countrymen. My Civil War tokens embody this era, these experiences, and
these people.
The thrill of my maiden voyage aboard the magic carpet led to many other
journeys through time. A lifelong love of coin collecting had been born. I
quickly learned that I was part of a larger fraternity of numismatic time
travelers. Adults and children throughout the world were just as spellbound
as I by the lure and experience of trips to the past, whether ancient or
fairly recent.
For example, the story of the bank notes found aboard the sunken cruise ship
Andrea Doria is fascinating. When the ocean liner's safe was recovered in
1981, divers expected it to contain jewels. Instead, they discovered Italian
and American currency. What must it feel like to handle some of this money?
It is tattered and faded. Looking at it and touching it, I know I would ride
the magic carpet back to that fateful foggy night of July 25, 1956, when the
Andrea Doria rammed into another ship and sank, some 11 hours later, causing
the death of over 46 passengers. I hover in the air, off the coast of
Nantucket , Massachusetts , watching as the Andrea Doria takes on water,
lists sharply, loses half of its lifeboats, and sinks 160 feet to the ocean
floor. Gliding over to a different view of the scene, I observe the arrival
of rescue ships, and recognize that many more lives could have been lost.
The currency is a memento to all of this.
The "magic carpet" borne of coins and currency can instantly transport you
to world events spanning hundreds of years! Come with me as I ride the
carpet into the recent past. We travel first to Amsterdam , in the
Netherlands in spring 2008, then quickly find ourselves flying above a
cornfield in the Dutch city of Maastricht . Here, we observe Paul Curfs, a
47-year-old hobbyist, skimming the ground with his metal detector. Suddenly,
the detector goes off, and Curfs realizes he's located something, buried
beneath the surface. He uncovers a golden coin with a picture of a horse on
it. Curfs is intrigued, but has no idea what he has found. Sometime later,
he posts a photo of the coin on the internet, and comes to learn it is quite
rare. Returning to the site, he digs further and uncovers a silver,
saucer-shaped coin, completely different from the first. Eventually, with
the help of others hobbyists, he unearths an entire treasure trove: 39 gold
and 70 silver coins! Archaeologists determine the coins were all minted in
mid-first century B.C., and suddenly - whoosh! -- we time travel again! We
enjoy a second fantasy flight, as the magic carpet speeds us much farther
back in history, to the period when Julius Caesar led a campaign against
local Celtic tribes. The gold coins are thought to have been minted by the
Eburones, a tribe we see resisting Caesar's desired conquest of the area,
and joining in an attack that takes the lives of 6,000 Roman soldiers.
Caesar, as the future Roman ruler, obliterates the Eburones in 53 B.C.
Archaeologists speculate that the silver coins were minted by tribes north
of the Eburones, and suggest their cooperation in opposing Caesar. What was
Curfs's comment regarding his important find? "It's exciting, like a little
boy's dream." Clearly, he understands the powerful link to the past that
ancient coins represent. His carpet ride was particularly spectacular, given
the Celtic coins' age, historical value, and random discovery.
These are but a few examples of the magic carpet rides that can be yours
when you collect coins and currency. While they vary in material, size, and
appearance, these little metallic discs and pieces of paper are a passport
to history that you can hold in your hand; a connection to bygone eras and
the people who lived during them. Don't you want to capture that feeling,
and board your own magic carpet? I believe you will find it is a rush and
fantasy ride into the past like no other.
Joel Rettew
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http://www.fastcoin.com
My Ebay Auctions http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/savoncoin
sgt23
This might be the kinda post that could land you in a mental ward or
someone to mistaken you as a retard. Just my 2cents!
Lorrie S.
"Joel Rettew" <fast...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:ggj6lc$9fg$1...@aioe.org...
Lorrie S.
> means of holding past events or people in the palm of your hand,
Sounds like that's not the only thing you like to hold in the palm of your
hand.
look@worldnet.att.net don't look
"sgt23" <bravesfa...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:fb371d17-df70-41ad...@j35g2000yqh.googlegroups.com...
>
> ------------------------http://www.fastcoin.com
>
> My Ebay Auctions http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/savoncoin
This might be the kinda post that could land you in a mental ward or
someone to mistaken you as a retard. Just my 2cents!
Joel Rettew has been in the coin business forever.
Hey Joel,I just recently purched a 79-S Morgan with your company name in
the insert. I imagine it's an old address as I've heard you've moved since.
The insert states:
Joel D.Rettew, Rare Coin Galleries,Inc.
3750 South Bristol
Santa Ana Ca. etc.
1879-S
GEM BU(65)
From the Estate of Lavere Redfield
It's an excellent 79S w/moirrored reverse. It's got a staple holding the
coin pouch closed and I'm wondering if it could be a PVC flip.
1787
In fact, many collectors dream and wonder about the times and peoples of
days past when enjoying their coins. Numismatics has strong ties to history
and sociology.
So, remind us, Sarge - how do you feel when another poster calls you an
idiot or a "retard"? However, in your case...
W.
Lorrie S.
in the coin business forever.
Could have fooled me. Sounded more like he's in the magic carpet business.
Joel Rettew
"sgt23" <bravesfa...@yahoo.com> wrote
>This might be the kinda post that could land you in a mental ward or
>someone to mistaken you as a retard. Just my 2cents!
A close friend of mine has a mentally challenged little girl. Your
perjorative use
of the word "retard" is VERY offensive.
Joel Rettew
------------------------
Joel Rettew
"Lorrie S." <lorri...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:ggkuuv$t2l$1...@news.motzarella.org...
have used
a more precise intensifier, since the word also has a meaning of "genuine."
Please
re-read my original post with this clarification in mind.
Joel Rettew
------------------------
Bruce Remick
>
> "sgt23" <bravesfa...@yahoo.com> wrote
>
>>This might be the kinda post that could land you in a mental ward or
>>someone to mistaken you as a retard. Just my 2cents!
>
> A close friend of mine has a mentally challenged little girl. Your
> perjorative use
> of the word "retard" is VERY offensive.
>
> Joel Rettew
Lighten up. During my own lifetime, disabled people were typically
described as retarded, crippled, lunatics, crazy, dumb, etc. These were
accepted terms in society and were considered PC at that time. Since then
people like yourself have adopted this self-righteous indignance when people
use a formerly PC term they don't approve of. Get off your high horse.
Others don't need you as their advocate.
Lorrie S.
> perjorative use
> of the word "retard" is VERY offensive.
Challenged? The challenge is to try and raise one of these "kids". The
only good thing Hitler ever did was to purge those that will never be
productive members of society and to empty out the insane asylums in
Germany. There were ZERO retarded and mentally ill people left alive in
Germany at the end of WW2. No vegetables or leeches left to suck money out
of the economy.