GIVE NO QUARTERS

GIVE NO QUARTERS

WHAT CHILD WOULD NOT FIND COLLECTING COINS A VERY SATISFYING , IF NOT ACTIVE HOBBY? YOU AS A PARENT ARE THINKING, "THIS COIN COLLECTING THING IS VERY GOOD FOR THE KIDS TO LEARN HOW TO SAVE MONEY AND MAYBE THEY'LL BECOME PROFICIENT MAKING CHANGE. BUT BEFORE YOU GO AND GET YOURSELF CARRIED AWAY IN THESE THOUGHTS, YOU SHOULD KNOW KIDS ARE THINKING SOMETHING ELSE, "HA, I'VE GOT A REASON TO RIFLE THROUGH MOM'S PURSE AND A REASON TO GO THROUGH DAD'S COINS ON HIS DRESSER, IF THEY SHOULD ASK ME WHAT I'M DOING." THE KIDS ARE SAYING TO YOU , "I'M JUST COLLECTING VALUABLE COINS.

I'M FORTUNATE MY KIDS ARE SERIOUS COIN COLLECTORS AND NOT IN THIS TO SKIM COINS FROM ME. . YOU SEE, THEY AND MILLIONS OF OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE WADED INTO THE POOL OF SPECIAL COIN COLLECTING BECAUSE OF THIS GREAT IDEA THE U-S MINT HAD 10 YEARS AGO.....STARTING THE STATE QUARTER PROGRAM. WHAT A SUCCESS!!!! ......AND NOT JUST KIDS LOOKING FOR THOSE SPECIAL QUARTERS FROM WISCONSIN, ARKANSAS, ILLINOIS, NORTH DAKOTA AND THE REST OF THE STATES. ADULTS ARE INTO THIS TOO. I NOTICED MY 85-YEAR-OLD DAD BOUGHT A COLORFUL BOARD WITH A U-S MAP PRINTED ON IT AND FOR EACH STATE, THERE'S A HOLE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE, WHERE THE COIN GOES. MOST OF THE HOLES ARE FILLED AND MY DAD IS PRETTY PROUD OF HIS WORK..AND BEST OF ALL, HE DIDN'T NEED ANY TAPE TO KEEP THE COINS IN THE HOLES.

I'M HERE TO SAY ALL THIS FUN WITH FILLING HOLES AND FINDING SHINY COINS AND LOOKING THROUGH MOM'S PURSE ENDS IN NOVEMBER. THE LAST STATE IN THE UNITED STATES, HAWAII, COMES OUT IN CIRCULATION THEN....AND I KNOW MY KIDS AND FATHER WILL FIND THESE BEAUTIFUL COINS, AND PUT THEM IN THEIR PLACES OF HONOR; COIN BOOKS AND A COIN MAP.

WE'RE LOOKING AT THE MOST SUCCESSFUL AND POPULAR COIN COLLECTING PROGRAM IN THE HISTORY OF COIN COLLECTING. THE GOVERNMENT'S PURPOSE OF BRINGING OUT THESE STATE QUARTERS FULFILLED A GOAL; PROVIDING KIDS WITH LESSONS ON STATES THEY DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE LEARNING. THEY ALSO ARE NOW EXPERTS AT RECOGNIZING STATE SYMBOLS...AND THEY ARE PROFESSIONALS IN PILFERING MONEY FROM THEIR PARENTS, THOUGH THIS LAST TALENT WON'T TRANSLATE INTO COLLEGE CREDIT.

I'VE GOT A STATE QUARTER IN MY POCKET.....FLORIDA.........AND ON THE BACK OF THE COIN I FIND FLORIDA BECAME A STATE IN 1845......IT'S THE "GATEWAY TO DISCOVERY." THE MOST BEAUTIFUL IMAGES ARE ON THIS COIN; COUPLE OF PALM TREES ON A SWATH OF LAND, A SHUTTLE HIGH IN THE SKY, AND A SPANISH SHIP SEEMING TO MOVE THROUGH THE WATER. THAT'S JUST ONE STATE COIN EMBOSSED WITH SYMBOLIC DESIGN.

WHAT'S NEXT IN COLLECTING? DON'T KNOW...BUT I'M KIND OF HOPING TO HOLD ONTO MY MONEY. I THINK I HAVE JUSTIFIABLE REASON TO BELIEVE THE GOVERNMENT MAY TRY TO PRINT SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION 20-DOLLAR BILLS. ONLY PROBLEM I SEE FOR THE KIDS, THEIR PARENTS NO LONGER HAVE 20-DOLLAR BILLS FLOATING AROUND, NOT EVEN 10-DOLLAR BILLS OR 5-DOLLAR BILLS. TRULY WITH THE FINANCIAL TURMOIL, COLLECTING CASH OR COINS ISN'T SUCH A BRIGHT IDEA ANY MORE. BUT THEN AGAIN, I MAY JUST DROP BY MY DAD'S HOUSE AND CHECK HIS DRESSER FOR LOOSE CASH.....OR MY MOM'S PURSE. I REALLY NEVER HAD THE CHANCE TO BE A PROFESSIONAL IN NUMISMATICS.

EEO