Varying luck sees wheaties come and go

The other day I was walking a friend’s dog in the park when I saw a penny on the ground. I stopped and, still being young enough to bend over, I picked it up.

It was heads up, which caused me to think it might be unlucky, because to me heads up means watch out. Then I noticed it was dated 1958, the same year of my birth. A wheatie, I guess it wasn’t unlucky after all. In fact, it had luster and looked to be in XF grade or better. Not too shabby for an old penny. I thus pocketed it.

When I got home I took my penny into my den and started to look at it under 10x magnification. It showed no sign of wear on it at all, according to my ANA book, and its luster wasn’t terrible. Not too many nicks on it either. I graded it MS-64 and put it down on my desk. Its worth: about $4.

Later that day I was going shopping and I realized my pocket change was still on my desk, so I went into my den and scooped up my change. Off I went to the local stores.

When I got done with the first store, the transaction was $5 even, so I paid with a five. I then went to the next store, where the transaction came to $2.77; having plenty of small change with me, I paid the bill with two ones and exact change. I then left and hung out with a coffee before heading home.

Later when I got home I went into my den to put my newly acquired wheatie into a holder, yet it wasn’t there. I then suddenly realized that I had scooped up my new find with the rest of my change. Upset but not grief-stricken, I pulled out my pocket change, hoping that I hadn’t spent it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the wheatie anywhere. I then realized that I must have spent it. The heads up sign of earlier had come to pass. I should have watched out more carefully.

Well, life goes on. Easy come, easy go. I’m not one for holding a grudge nor grief for long.

The next day came and I found myself at the local shops again. I got my usual coffee and sat at a local bench to see what I could see. While watching life go by, I decided to look through all of my pocket change in hopes of finding some other rare coin.

Then I saw it. Another wheatie. What are the odds of finding two wheaties in two days, I thought. I didn’t care, I was just happy to find another one. I only hoped that it was as nice as the first one was.

In my hand the coin sat. The back of it facing up with a shine on it. Not so bad so far, I thought, then I turned it over; and to my surprise the date was 1958. I started to think that I got my original coin back.

I carefully put it in a safe pocket by itself, finished my coffee, went home, took the coin out, instantly graded it and immediately put it in a holder. And yes, it graded MS-64. My luck was back, and it probably would hold, seeing that I found the coin face down this time.

Well, that’s my penny-worth on my recent wheatie find. See you around the poker table, and don’t forget to ante up.

David W. Newcomb is a hobbyist from Braintree, Mass.
Viewpoint is a forum for the expression of opinion on a variety of numismatic subjects. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Numismatic News.
To have your opinion considered for Viewpoint, write to David C. Harper, Editor, Numismatic News, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990. Send e-mail to david.harper@fwpubs.com.