I must make an admission. I pick up money from the ground. My grandmother, Jetty (cool name huh), walked the same path to the grocery store for many years. She would pick up coins that she found and put them into a jar in her closet. After she passed away we found her jar. It probably had a hundred dollars of face value inside. But, the real value was in the very old dates. There were Indian head pennies in there! She was from an era where pennies matter. My mom had a collection as well. She was a child of the depression, when pennies really mattered. When she passed away, my brother and I divided the coins. Some of them were really old and valuable.
So, I am a child of a child of the depression and I don't save the coins I find, but willingly will stoop to pick up a lost penny that most today will walk right over. Side note: why the heck are we still producing pennies today? There are estimated to be several hundred billion in circulation, with 4 to 8 billion produced each year. Most of these are in jars. The cost of producing a penny today is 1.5 cents, or 50% more than its value. Crazy, huh?
Which brings me to poker yesterday. Claiming my seat in the 4/8 Omaha game, I looked on the floor and there was a dime! Well, if I will pick up a penny, sure as hell gonna pick up 10 of them! I nicknamed it "my lucky dime" and placed it atop my starting stack of $100 in blue poker chips. Was it lucky for me? Well, i did manage to hit a king high straight flush and claim the high hand for $200. Sweet. Unfortunately it was a day of suckouts, losing several big pots on the river. After 7 hours of play, I cashed out for exactly my buyins and left with a total profit of...........10 cents, the dime I picked up.
So, I am a child of a child of the depression and I don't save the coins I find, but willingly will stoop to pick up a lost penny that most today will walk right over. Side note: why the heck are we still producing pennies today? There are estimated to be several hundred billion in circulation, with 4 to 8 billion produced each year. Most of these are in jars. The cost of producing a penny today is 1.5 cents, or 50% more than its value. Crazy, huh?
Which brings me to poker yesterday. Claiming my seat in the 4/8 Omaha game, I looked on the floor and there was a dime! Well, if I will pick up a penny, sure as hell gonna pick up 10 of them! I nicknamed it "my lucky dime" and placed it atop my starting stack of $100 in blue poker chips. Was it lucky for me? Well, i did manage to hit a king high straight flush and claim the high hand for $200. Sweet. Unfortunately it was a day of suckouts, losing several big pots on the river. After 7 hours of play, I cashed out for exactly my buyins and left with a total profit of...........10 cents, the dime I picked up.
1 comment:
I pick up coins too. Do you have any idea where Jetty got her name from? It's very unusual. Or is it just a nickname? Curious minds must know!
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