Coins, Spare Change…

by | Jan 9, 2012

Coins, spare change, the jingle in your pocket…  I wonder…

At a time in our culture where penny candy requires a dollar, I wonder about the practical use of coins and the invisible perception of coins. For the “seniors” in our midst – I am close to that stage – coins have a history of value and imprints from life experiences that shape our use of coins and perception. Here’s one example. My beloved, Rich, scours (well maybe not that intense) the ground when walking for lost coins. His day is made when he finds a quarter, dime … even a penny.  You can feel his carefree boyhood excitement when he exclaims,” I found a ______ today.”  Contrast this experience to my children, who rarely, if ever, notice, much less pick up a coin on the ground.  In fact, our son  played a joke on his dad, just to elicit his joy of finding a coin. While waiting in the car in a parking lot for Rich to return, our son extracted a quarter from his change pile in the car and said I am going to put this outside on the ground for Dad to find – “watch this.”  Sure enough, within minutes Rich left the store and spotted the quarter on his way to the car. He paused, smiled, picked it up, grinned at us holding up the coin before opening the car door. Upon entering the car, he said, “look what I found!”  Our son burst out laughing unable to suppress his proof of dad’s consistent behavior.  As amusing as this tale might be, the difference in perception between Rich and our son is clear. The value of coins over the years has diminished with inflation of goods and services. Additionally, the use of electronic money (plastic cards) is helping to make hard currency obsolete.  How does this affect you? Do you collect coins or spare change in a jar? Do you see pennies as a nuisance?  What do you notice when coins jingle in your pocket or purse?  Are you willing to wonder about those round metal pieces that used to buy candy and today require a dollar? There are rich learnings from spare change. I wonder what else I can learn …  I wonder what creative activities I can implement with spare change … I wonder how our money system is evolving and where hard coin currencies play a role … I wonder how others perceive coins – same and different from me …