Have you ever moved on from a place only to discover that you still have an entire pocket full of change? Virtually no exchange houses, official or unofficial will take pocket change, no matter how much it may add up to. It is some sort of unspoken rule among the world’s money changers. A conspiracy to keep our pockets heavy and jingling.
It took us three countries to realize that pocket change might actually make for a great souvenir and not just a pain in the butt (no pun intended) to carry around. From that point forward we made it our mission to not only keep pocket change, but to keep an entire set of change from every country.
To make matters worse, or better depending on your opinion, we even started to collect old coins, buying soviet era tin circles off the streets of Eastern Europe’s capitals, coins that represented a currency now revalued, and even collectors coins for holidays in China. Oh yes, we sunk to a new low every city we went to, negotiating for more and more metal to add to our “light” backpacks. Literally, a new low, as the weight of each new set of coins added significantly to the weight on our backs.
Of course we didn’t carry it all around the world. Virtually every box or courier shipment that went home thanks to friends and family contained precious plastic baggies of coins.
And so they were scattered around the homes of friends and family when we returned and their temporary keepers were more than pleased to return the coinage as soon as humanly possible.
Fortunately we had a plan for the 100 pounds of coins (or so it felt).
A coffee table.
Yes, we were going to cover the top of a coffee table with these coins. For months after our return I hunted high and low (online shopping!) for the perfect coffee table to cover in coins. I did not find it and loosing patience with putting his drink on the floor, Danny implored me to just buy one.
Then the fun began. Coins are metal and if you remember Chemistry 101 in high school you know that metal reacts with other chemicals. Mainly oxygen. And so those coins we so carefully collected around the world? Well without oil deposits from human touch, they tarnished, darkened and in some cases changed color completely (why hello rust). And so Danny set upon cleaning them. After probably 20 hours of soaking, scrubbing, rinsing, scrubbing and drying the entire collection is virtually there. They’ve been “cataloged” or better yet organized and sorted, piled according to country and region and finally stacked in a 3″ binder.
And sometime in the next few days, those coins, which morphed from annoying pocket change to a precious souvenir of our travels will make their way onto a coffee table where they will live on to cherish one drink at a time.
Have you collected any one thing from your travels? What have you done with your collection?
andrei g says
I’ve collected a few, not only from countries I’ve been to, but also asked my foreign friends to bring some from their home countries and/or from countries they visited.
They don’t amount to much yet, but I have coins from the US, Jordan, Tunisia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Euros (yes, unfortunately most countries in EU share the same EURO coins so … euros from ) Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain, Greece.
I was really looking for something creative to do with them, so thanks for this ideea 馃檪 Hopefully I’ll buy a coffee table sometime soon 馃檪
Jillian says
It sounds like you already have a pretty good collection. Good luck with the project and share pictures when you’re done!
Jeff says
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11395398/1/gold-bugs-creep-into-republican-campaign.html?kval=dontmiss
Pocket change may be worth while!
Jillian says
It is worthwhile, although it certainly doesn’t make gold nuggets…
alyson says
LOVE this idea!! Can’t wait to see the finished product.
Jillian says
Thanks!