“Elias, I have a treasure in my penny can. Do not tell anyone my secret,” said Grandpa Louis. I was five years old when my grandpa first told me about his treasure. Back then I thought he was just spinning one of his nighttime stories to keep me entertained while I fell asleep.
The years went by and Grandpa Louis would sit with me and talk about our family history. He taught me about the value of a dollar, to save my money for the essential things in life, to be frugal and to study hard so that I could have a good future.
He was born during the Great Depression in the year 1932. He told me, Elias “I was about your age when my father, your Great-grandfather, Albert and your Great-grandmother, Grace decided to leave Kansas and move to Boston. We rode east with a couple who had a car big enough for the five of us. We shared expenses and survived the trip by doing farm work in exchange for food along the way and sleeping in barns. Our clothes and shoes were threadbare by the time we reached our destination.”
“When we reached Boston, my Uncle Thomas welcomed us with open arms to his small tenement apartment. We had few personal possessions, but we shared what we had. We slept two to a bed. Great-Grandpa Albert started working in a garage cleaning the premises. He started to learn how to fix cars and all kinds of appliances. Great-Grandma Grace took in laundry six days per week.”
I interrupted him and asked him, Grandpa “did you attend school?” He said, “No Elias, I did not attend school for the first few years that we were in Boston because I had to work to help the family pay rent and buy food. I would wander the streets collecting scrap metals and glass that I could sell at the local junk yard. The junk yard paid me a penny a pound. I would get about $5.00 for a week’s worth of work.”
“We were extremely frugal and bought only what we needed to survive. I got into the habit of saving pennies every week in a can from the sale of scrap metal.”
“When I was fourteen, your Great-Grandpa took me with him to work at the garage after school. I learned to repair engines, change tires, and do oil changes. The owner of the garage paid me $5.00 per week. I was able to continue saving pennies every week.”
As time passed, Grandpa would ask me questions about school, “Elias, are you taking advanced English, math and science classes?” He encouraged me to have an active and inquiring mind. He was so happy when I graduated at the top of my class. He was disappointed when I told him that I would forego college and start working at a local business. I explained that the financial aid packages would only cover 50% of my college expenses.
Grandpa Louis responded by saying, “you are attending college.” “Didn’t I tell you that I had a treasure in my penny can back when you were seven years old.”
Grandpa shared with me that in the 1960s he was watching a news report talking about the Lincoln penny. The announcer said, “do you have a worn copper penny, with Lincoln on the front and two wheat stalks on the back; that penny could be worth a lot of money.”
“After hearing the news report, I spent a week looking at a thousand pennies that I had saved in my penny can. Amazingly, I found a 1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Penny. The penny featured a visible doubling of the date, the word “Liberty” and “In God We Trust.” I took the penny to a respected coin collector who took his time looking at the coin. He told me that my Lincoln penny was worth $50,000.00.”
Grandma Maria and I were in a daze. We were jumping up and down with joy. She asked me, “Louis what are we going to do with the money when we sell the penny?” I replied, “let us not sell it, leave it in the penny can for an emergency. We have enough to live on.”
Grandpa Louis said, “Elias, we have an emergency.” Grandma Maria and I will sell the Lincoln Penny to pay for your college education.
The 1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Penny sold at auction for $60,000.00. Our esteemed President Abraham Lincoln would be proud to know that his penny paid for Elias’ college education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.