Clothing
Jewelry +
Home +
Pottery 
Art +
Paper +
Music +
Toys +
Sports +
Ads +
Eras +
PREV
NEXT
Posted 16 months, 4 days ago
SMD
(87 items)
This is a Show & Tell like none other. Let me tell you about these two 1889 Liberty Head V nickels...
The note reads "Two nickels closed Edward's eyes in death". Edward was a brother of my paternal grandfather who died of typhoid at age 2. He was born on February 5, 1903 and died on July 10, 1905. These nickels were placed on his eyes to keep them closed. Traditionally, the coins would have remained there because they become a sort of payment to reach the afterlife, however the coins on Edward's eyes were removed before he was laid to rest. They have been quietly passed down from one generation to the next.
Wow...That's kind of intense.
That's family history for you. I became the keeper of my paternal family's history when my father passed away in 1997. These coins, wrapped up inside the note, came with that responsibility.
I have a 1893 V Nickel, but it didn't come with a story like that, I did however just randomly find it on the sidewalk.
Very special items there. Glad to see they were passed through your family.
Re-write the note and the genealogical connection to Edward, and what else you know about these for the next generation, because you will not always be around. Place with this note and the coins. Use acid free paper.
I became the keeper of my family's history after my father passed away. Neither of my brothers have any desire for this sort of thing, and have very little knowledge of the family history. I have no children to pass on the family history to, so I am hoping against hope that when either my niece or nephew grows up I can pass on all I know to one of them, along with the family history papers and these coins. I do need to take steps to preserve the note along with the coins, all these years the coins have simply been wrapped up inside the note which has been folded up to the size of the coins.
Write it ALL down if you haven't already (make copies), place it in a nice folder and put it away (put a copy in a safe deposit box). Hopefully your niece or nephew will want it some day, but it might be when they are all grown up (thats typically when the history bug hits). My aunt, that has all our family history, is somewhat estranged from the rest of our family, and our family is very small. I would love to know all the history she has. Maybe one day I'll be able to get it.