Coin collector

I love having kids partly because their interests enable me to learn new things. Take for instance, coins. Oliver is very much into coins and how rare certain versions are, etc. So many kind friends, neighbors, and family have helped Ollie build his foreign coin collection. And now he's getting into the rare coin business. We have a man who lives in our neighborhood who owns a coin shop and the other day we paid it a visit. 

As we walked in, Oliver knew exactly what he wanted.  I chatted a bit with the lady at the counter, then Ollie took his turn, "Do you have any Benjamin Franklin half dollars?" Um, what? I thought to myself. I had no idea this coin even existed and here was my seven year old talking with the coin dealer like it was no big deal. The dealer went to the back and grabbed some coins for Ollie to look at. He choose a fine grade coin and handed over $7 in exchange. Ansel joined the fray and bought two silver dimes (one was a mercury dime, another coin I did not know existed) for $3. We talked some more, looked around then headed for the car. 

Jess and I looked at the boys' coins and oohed and aahed over them. They were really neat and a part of history. As we backed out of the parking lot Oliver exclaimed, "I am so happy now, I'm crying!" His eyes were watery. I think he thought rare coins were so out of his reach and unattainable, that he couldn't believe he had actually bought something that, only moments before, he had only read about. It was a magical. And since then, his coin collection just keeps growing. Ask him about it sometime. It really is something special.