Trip starts with small reward

I am just back from a road trip to Seattle. As I packed Thursday morning, I realized that I had no Tums left. It is no fun to wake up in the middle of the night away from home with indigestion due to varying hours and meal times, so I decided to swing by the IGA on the way out of town just in case.

I quickly performed my task. Once back in the car and I decided to empty my pocket of the change so I wouldn’t either lose it or set off the metal detector at the airport.

I examined the coins. The first quarter I looked at was a 1986-P. It showed quite a bit of wear. If I had an uncirculated roll of them, then they would be worth saving.

The second quarter in the group surprised me. It was a 1961-D quarter. With silver at over $23 an ounce, I could hardly believe it. It has a slightly off color, which might be why no one spotted it before me.

It has been so long since I have received a silver quarter in change that I cannot recall the last time it happened. Half dollars in my change have been silver on rare occasions over the years, but even in Iola, half dollar use has pretty well fizzled out. Silver dimes are the most frequent, but even they are rare events. Silver quarters are unusual. The public or other collectors seem more attuned to this denomination.

The cent wasn’t worth looking at. I don’t remember the date. Perhaps in my excitement I didn’t look at it closely enough for it to even register with my long-term memory other than to prompt the thought it was copper-coated zinc.

I considered receipt of the silver coin to be a propitious start to my sojourn. I was on my way. Sure enough, it was good trip. I have no airline adventure to report.