My Treasure Chest
By Larry Ricksen
When I was young my cousin and I shared coin collecting hobbies. It started for me in the mid 1960’s at a time when silver coins could still be found in circulation. We each had an Official Red Book that showed the value of various coins and taught us how to evaluate their quality. We preserved the best of our coins in coin holders and labeled them. Our collections were stored in treasure chests. As I reflect back on this hobby today, Ted and I were like the pearl merchant in the parable of Jesus, always searching for coins of great value. Rummaging through our parents’ spare change was not boring. It was an adventure.
Shortly before my grandparents sold their Oakland home they discovered in their attic a small bag of old coins. It contained a variety of Indian head pennies, mercury dimes, buffalo head nickels, silver dollars, and more. It was a bonanza! Since Ted and I shared this hobby we were allowed to split the bounty. I clearly remember the day we sat, with coin books in hand, taking turns selecting the coins after evaluating the quality and value of each.
Later, I had another amazing find. I had purchased an ice cream cone with cash and was given change that included pennies. I was always on the lookout for 1955-S pennies as very few were minted. To my great surprise my change included two 1955-S pennies of extremely high quality - uncirculated! I only had one of these pennies in my collection but it was only of average quality. I asked the clerk if I could look through the pennies in the cash register. She obliged and I ended up finding another 10 uncirculated ones which I exchanged for a dime!
Another great windfall occurred around 1970. My father’s boss, after showing his presidential envelope collection in Europe, returned with a bag of foreign coins which he gave to me. Included in the bag were coins from dozens of countries, a 1796 coin, a small gold coin, and an uncirculated commemorative silver coin.
When I started high school my life became busier and my interest in coin collecting waned. In fact 20 years passed before I opened the treasure chest again to share its contents with my boys when they were in grammar school. They were captivated. In fact my oldest son did a class presentation showing coins from around the world, attaching them to a big world map.
This hobby in my youth was a delight and sharing that adventure with my cousin made it even more memorable. So where is this humble treasure chest today? It is gathering dust in my garage and has not been opened for nearly 30 years. At some point I plan on opening the chest for the next generation of my family, but this time I plan to use the experience to share with them about the far greater treasure “that moth and rust will not destroy”.
Sadly, the road map to the greatest treasure in the world sits on many a book shelf collecting dust. Within the Bible is a treasure map that leads to Christ, the one who came into the world to reveal to us his Father’s heart, His plan to save the world, and His promise to all who trust in Him a place in His eternal kingdom. For the rest of this life may we “guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, this treasure which has been entrusted to us” (2 Tim 1:14).