A 25¢ Story
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| "It had another design." |
Curious, I started flipping over other coins. Five of them were Seals. Three of them (including the one in the image on the left) were weird. One (having "California" at the top) had an engraving of Yosemite Valley, avid environmentalist John Muir, and a California condor. Another (with "Oregon" at the top) had an engraving of Crater Lake. The third one ("Virginia") had a fleet of ships.
When we came back from the Astronomy class, I remembered that we got $5 in change at the Timpany Center (where I was taking my swim classes; I hadn't gone to the swim team just yet) for getting a snack from a vending machine. I searched around and found 11 "State Quarters" (as I called them), from Hawaii to Vermont ("The Green Mountain State"; doesn't it have something other than green mountains?)
And I went about collecting State Quarters from change. Massachusetts, North Carolina, etc, etc, etc. But after a while, I just couldn't find more. But then I found that Raju Mama once collected state quarters. He had a jarful of extras, and he let me search them. My state quarter count skyrocketed to 45, adding quarters like Arkansas and Kentucky.
As you know, there are 50 states. I had 45. Missing: Alaska, Arizona, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Washington. But, one day, in a Pizza Hut, I found that I counted wrong. There were more quarters I was missing.
"Look what I found!" I exclaimed.
"What? Alaska?" asked Mummy.
"No, look at this."
"Northern... Marinara Islands? What's that?"
"It's Mariana, not Marinara."
As you can see from this map, the Northern Mariana Islands are west of the Philippines and northeast of Taiwan. The capital is Saipan, and the population is 53,833. Of all 15 islands, Saipan has the most people (48,317), Tinian has 3,540, Rota has 3,283, and the rest are unpopulated. But, most of all, it's a territory of the US.
I told Raju Mama about it, and he showed me his Guam quarter (Guam is a US territory, too.) But now, I was missing five.
Raju Mama told me that the bank was the best place to find state quarters was the bank. Cashiers in the bank had rolls of 40 quarters! So there I was, sifting through 100 quarters, and flipping over the last five quarters in the first bowl. Nevada, Virginia, Louisiana, South Carolina... and there it was. The Grand Canyon State.
It was the last frontier... at least for now. The Great Land loomed inside a heap of quarters... I was sure of it as I flipped my 79th quarter. It was most likely to be Virginia or South Carolina (for they were peculiarly very common.) But it wasn't. It was Alaska.
Missing were Pennsylvania and South Dakota (but you could also count Guam.) Mummy got 180 quarters from the bank and we split them into two trays. I searched the first tray. Virginias, South Carolinas, North Dakotas, Nevadas, over and over and over again. It was very boring. But when I was flipping over a South Carolina, I saw a rough drawing of Mount Rushmore behind it. I had found South Dakota.
Encouraged by this, I searched for Pennsylvania even harder. But when I flipped over my 66th coin, I began to feel discouraged. But that 66th coin wasn't Louisiana or something. That 66th coin was the Keystone State - otherwise known as Pennsylvania.
I wanted to get Washington, so I searched the second tray. I flipped over quarter after quarter, and still there was no sign of Washington. I was becoming so good at this that I could recognize state quarters without even looking at the top. But I saw an unfamiliar engraving. It was a piano. And it had "DUKE ELLINGTON" on it instead of "YAMAHA." But, most of all, it had "District of Columbia" at the top.
I was missing Washington, and I wanted to find it without going to the bank again. But I kept getting quarters like Michigan or New Hampshire. I wanted to tell Mummy about going to the bank again when she bought a bagel - and got some change, too. Three quarters. A Great Seal, another Great Seal... and the Evergreen State. I had collected all the state quarters.
But I wasn't over collecting quarters yet. According to the Internet, I still had four territory quarters to collect (American Samoa, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.) As I collected more and more change for that empty yogurt cup, I told Mummy about going to the bank. But we never seemed to have any time.
As we got a Subway for going to a Foothill College lecture, a Subway worker handed us a bag with our Subways inside... and the Isle of Enchantment. And it enchanted me.
After getting Puerto Rico (the Isle of Enchantment), I knew I would have to wait another year or so and then get a new one. So I stopped collecting Territory Quarters. But that didn't mean I stopped collecting quarters.
As Mummy got out of the van, I was thinking about the place she was going to. It was called Kumud Groceries. The price was always high and the quality was always low. And that wasn't all. One day, in the Evergreen Desi List, there was a topic called Credit Card Fraud in Kumud Groceries. But this time, there was no credit card fraud - just the quarter in the image on the left.
So I started collecting Park Quarters. But it was hard. Months after the trip to Kumud, I still hadn't gotten another Park Quarter. Everyone kept giving us quarters from 1976 (the State Quarter program started in 1999, and the Park Quarter program started in 2010.) But, at a swim meet, Mummy became the cashier - and kept the quarter from 2011. It was the one in the image on the right. Another Park Quarter.
I waited and waited to get another Park Quarter - and months after the swim meet, I still hadn't gotten one. It was December 11, 2011, and Daddy wanted to go to Costa Rica. But it was too late, and at the last minute, he settled for Pismo Beach - and we were going to have Christmas there.
After the four-and-a-half hour drive, we arrived at our suite. It was as big as an apartment! From the balcony, we saw the ocean - and it was magnificent! The beach was in walking distance, we had free complimentary continental breakfast, each suite had two TVs, there were swimming pools, tennis courts, putting greens, table tennis, badminton courts, and life-size chess and checkers, and so on. We had so much fun!
When it was Christmas, I woke up. After we brushed our teeth, we opened up our presents. "[Finding] Nemo!" shouted Sugi. Then I opened up my present. "State...Series...Quarters," I read out loud.
I opened it. Inside was a map with holes for all my quarters. Before, I put my quarters in a jar I made for them in clay class. If I wanted to get one quarter, I had to turn the whole jar upside down - and maybe lose some quarters in the process. Now, I could just take the quarter out of its hole.
When we came back home, I put all my state quarters and territory quarters in it. When I put in the last one, I found that one state quarter was missing. It was Utah.
After we came back home, a package from Amazon arrived. "Oh, it's there," said Mummy.
"Go! Play in the hall!" said Daddy.
After some time, Daddy said "Come, come." I came. They gave me a packet to unwrap. After I unwrapped it, I opened a case and found... quarters. Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. My state quarter/territory quarter collecting would be done - only if I could find Utah.
I searched all my extras - and I couldn't find it. I searched all our change - and I couldn't find it. I searched the car - and I couldn't find it. As we kept getting Seals, I couldn't find it... you get the idea.
I wanted to go to the bank, but I knew that I would get Park Quarters, not State Quarters. So I stopped collecting for a while, and did other things. On January 22, I got involved in a movie shoot. First, I went to Portola Valley, and then Boulder Creek and the redwood forests, and there I was, at this hill in Half Moon Bay. Suddenly, as I prepared to ascend the hill, I saw two quarters. Number one was Colorful Colorado. As I was flipping over the other one, I thought about Engine 119 and Jupiter, and the last spike at Promontory Summit, Utah. As I flipped it over, I saw just that. I had found Utah.
My state quarter collecting was done.
Missing were Pennsylvania and South Dakota (but you could also count Guam.) Mummy got 180 quarters from the bank and we split them into two trays. I searched the first tray. Virginias, South Carolinas, North Dakotas, Nevadas, over and over and over again. It was very boring. But when I was flipping over a South Carolina, I saw a rough drawing of Mount Rushmore behind it. I had found South Dakota.
Encouraged by this, I searched for Pennsylvania even harder. But when I flipped over my 66th coin, I began to feel discouraged. But that 66th coin wasn't Louisiana or something. That 66th coin was the Keystone State - otherwise known as Pennsylvania.
I wanted to get Washington, so I searched the second tray. I flipped over quarter after quarter, and still there was no sign of Washington. I was becoming so good at this that I could recognize state quarters without even looking at the top. But I saw an unfamiliar engraving. It was a piano. And it had "DUKE ELLINGTON" on it instead of "YAMAHA." But, most of all, it had "District of Columbia" at the top.I was missing Washington, and I wanted to find it without going to the bank again. But I kept getting quarters like Michigan or New Hampshire. I wanted to tell Mummy about going to the bank again when she bought a bagel - and got some change, too. Three quarters. A Great Seal, another Great Seal... and the Evergreen State. I had collected all the state quarters.
But I wasn't over collecting quarters yet. According to the Internet, I still had four territory quarters to collect (American Samoa, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.) As I collected more and more change for that empty yogurt cup, I told Mummy about going to the bank. But we never seemed to have any time.
As we got a Subway for going to a Foothill College lecture, a Subway worker handed us a bag with our Subways inside... and the Isle of Enchantment. And it enchanted me.
After getting Puerto Rico (the Isle of Enchantment), I knew I would have to wait another year or so and then get a new one. So I stopped collecting Territory Quarters. But that didn't mean I stopped collecting quarters.
As Mummy got out of the van, I was thinking about the place she was going to. It was called Kumud Groceries. The price was always high and the quality was always low. And that wasn't all. One day, in the Evergreen Desi List, there was a topic called Credit Card Fraud in Kumud Groceries. But this time, there was no credit card fraud - just the quarter in the image on the left. It didn't look a bit like the other quarters. But I knew what it was: one of the National Park Quarters. And this was Glacier National Park in Montana.
So I started collecting Park Quarters. But it was hard. Months after the trip to Kumud, I still hadn't gotten another Park Quarter. Everyone kept giving us quarters from 1976 (the State Quarter program started in 1999, and the Park Quarter program started in 2010.) But, at a swim meet, Mummy became the cashier - and kept the quarter from 2011. It was the one in the image on the right. Another Park Quarter. I waited and waited to get another Park Quarter - and months after the swim meet, I still hadn't gotten one. It was December 11, 2011, and Daddy wanted to go to Costa Rica. But it was too late, and at the last minute, he settled for Pismo Beach - and we were going to have Christmas there.
After the four-and-a-half hour drive, we arrived at our suite. It was as big as an apartment! From the balcony, we saw the ocean - and it was magnificent! The beach was in walking distance, we had free complimentary continental breakfast, each suite had two TVs, there were swimming pools, tennis courts, putting greens, table tennis, badminton courts, and life-size chess and checkers, and so on. We had so much fun!
I opened it. Inside was a map with holes for all my quarters. Before, I put my quarters in a jar I made for them in clay class. If I wanted to get one quarter, I had to turn the whole jar upside down - and maybe lose some quarters in the process. Now, I could just take the quarter out of its hole.
When we came back home, I put all my state quarters and territory quarters in it. When I put in the last one, I found that one state quarter was missing. It was Utah.
After we came back home, a package from Amazon arrived. "Oh, it's there," said Mummy.
"Go! Play in the hall!" said Daddy.
After some time, Daddy said "Come, come." I came. They gave me a packet to unwrap. After I unwrapped it, I opened a case and found... quarters. Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. My state quarter/territory quarter collecting would be done - only if I could find Utah.
I searched all my extras - and I couldn't find it. I searched all our change - and I couldn't find it. I searched the car - and I couldn't find it. As we kept getting Seals, I couldn't find it... you get the idea.
My state quarter collecting was done.
