When I run in the darkness, I often don’t see the treasures that might be sitting at my feet.  When the sun is out, however, I often stumble across lost coins and trinkets on the streets and sidewalks along my route. I have always known the value of a penny ever since I was a young boy searching for the elusive 1909 S VDB Lincoln cent. Coin collecting was one of my first passions, and it’s impossible for me to walk (or run) around an abandoned coin. I always think of them as “Pennies from Heaven,” (See Post #183) and I collect them in a jar for good luck. I knew it was going to be a good day when I found one, and often finding pennies meant more than shiny quarters. Dimes, nickels, and quarters stand out more on the asphalt and often catch a glimmer of the sun’s rays.

This morning I found a 10 Bani coin from Romania, the equivalent of a penny. I’ve found Canadian and Mexican coins on the ground, and maybe even a French Franc, but never a Bani.  The State Mint issued Romanian Leu coins starting in 2005 in 4 different denominations, including the coin I just found. The date on mine is 2010, the year Bulgaria finished third in Eurovision with the song “Playing with Fire” by Paula Seling and Ovi, while 21 people died in floods.  As I put it in my pocket, I wondered about the message, thinking of the song “Pennies from Heaven” and good fortune from angels above. “Make sure your umbrella is upside down.” Should I be thinking about travel plans to Romania, as I recall my Romanian buddies Agata and Beata from Toastmasters?  They were using the program to improve on their second language, while I was still struggling with my first. Is Transylvania and Dracula’s Castle in my future? “I vant to suck your blood” I just gave blood to the Red Cross vampires last week, so “Count” me out for a few more months. Are there Banis from Mecca?

I’ve neglected my coin collecting in favor of sports memorabilia, and should probably fill those few remaining slots in my coin books. I also have a stamp collection, a lapel pin collection, a cuff-link collection,and a ticket collection. In fact, I have a collection of collections! I’m surprised that I don’t still have my bottle cap collection from childhood. In 1962 when I was 11 years old, there was a Coca-Cola “Tour the World” contest. If you collected 100 bottle caps from different countries and glued them the matching spot on the giant game card folder you could win cases of Coke or up to $150,000 in cash. I remember it being sticky work, removing the cork liners from the caps to reveal the destination. There was a gas station down the block from us that had a vending machine with a built-in bottle opener, and the attendant would let us go through the collection box each week. We also had a magnet on a string that we would use to fish bottle caps out of these vending machines around town. If memory serves me correctly, there was another Coca-Cola contest to collect bottle caps from all the states, as well as one for sports figures like Jim Brown. Come to think of it, I also have a collection of quarters from the 50 states, when those were made by the U.S. Mint back in 1999 and 2000. I’m still missing a few of those that I’m sure I could fill on Ebay.

Ebay has made it so easy for collectors to buy, sell, and exchange collectibles. You no longer have to fish treasures out of vending machines or visit garage sales and antique shows. I lost a bidding war yesterday for a signed letter by my White Sox catcher hero Sherm Lollar on official Chicago White Sox stationary. I was willing to go up to $25 and I think it ended up selling for $57. It’s good to know that there are other nutty people out there willing to pay big bucks for memories. I guess I’m not the only one who cares about Sherm Lollar, who’s been dead now for 40 years, so it’s difficult to get signatures from him anymore. It’s a supply and demand world, so if you’re willing to pay the price you can get just about anything. I’m just glad I got my penny’s worth this morning.