Show Him the Money

Drafted several weeks ago, but didn't post due to technical and life difficulties...

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With subtle exuberance displayed amidst his normally stoic features, CTAY recently declared that his latest metal detecting jaunt had led to his best finds yet. Regretfully, my crazy busyness at home and my continuing journey "on the critical path" at work have caused me to neglect my blog (among other things) for so long. I endeavor to remedy this now.

Several weeks ago at an undisclosed location he would only describe as "a park" (which doesn't reveal much as there are 157 city parks alone in Ann Arbor, not to mention nearby metroparks, recreation areas, county parks, etc.), Chris began his exceptional day by uncovering a 1942 Mercury Dime (a 'Merc' in the biz, though it seems worth noting that it's not actually a picture of the Roman god). Finding any real silver, as I understand, is pretty exciting. Soon after, however, the metal detector screen began to fog up, making the display difficult to read. Spurred on by his early success, Chris opted to attempt a fix himself and broke open the casing--voiding the warranty--in order to dry out the accumulating moisture inside. The break-in paid off immediately when he found 2 more silver coins: a 1964 Roosevelt Dime (aka a "Rosie" and the last year silver dimes were minted), and a 1911 Barber dime (named after the designer).

Top row, from left: Standing Liberty, Barber dime, Mercury dime, Roosevelt Dime. Bottom row: Wheat pennies.

After his hat trick of dimes, Chris also found two wheat pennies. But the piece de resistance from the day was the last thing he found: a Standing Liberty quarter in exceptional condition (for being underground). Research revealed that this San Francisco-minted coin from 1926 only ever saw 2.7 million in circulation, compared to the Philadelphia-minted version circulating 11.3 million.

Standing Liberty, front and back

Chris's digs make me wonder, how long have these coins been beneath the earth? Who brought them there, and did anybody ever notice they were missing from their purse or pocket? Or did they notice but were playing the ol' "It's not worth the time/effort to stop and pick up that dropped change" card?* What's the "half-life" of a coin in circulation, anyway?**

*I went looking for the quote about how much it costs Bill Gates to pick up dropped money and I found someone who's ability to overthink it and miss the point rivals my own
** The US Mint claims the average circulation lifespan is 25 years.