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Father Takes Rare Coins

Father Takes Coins

In mine and my sibling's youth our father owning his own business often came across rare coins as currency. I'm sure he would pay above value or offer a reduced price on goods for the coins. It was various U.S. coins like one dollar and half dollar as well as coins with rare dates.

Originally my parents kept three glass cups in the cabinet closest to the telephone in our home at Broken Lane, one for each child's collection of coins. Our father would show us the coins and then put it in our respective glass for safekeeping. Anyways fast forward a couple years to where I was about 7 years old, my family was on hard times because of a failing business and my mother's unrealistic life standards. My father was not any more addicted to beer or alcohol than his previous behavior dictated, he just ran out of money to buy it.

His solution and only place where there was any money was in our cups of rare coins. His rationality was that he gave them to us so they were his and if he hadn't given them to us they would never have gotten into our possession. Slowly over time I began to notice, I think we all did that my father was taking the dollar coins and pretty much every coin in those cups to buy beer. Remember again I was only 7 years old but I did at one time ask or really confront my mother about how when I opened the cabinet half of my coins were gone and I knew my father took them. She would just respond "ok".

In my adulthood and going through various addictions and understanding the impact, I in absolutely no way put blame or shame on my father for his actions. I believe engaging in such behavior and having your children confront you about it made him feel guilt and pain, especially in later years his late forties when looking back at his life.