A Penny and a Lesson in Value

I found a coin worth 500% more than its face value discarded. It taught me the worth of my writing and how God sees me when I fail.

I collect coins as a hobby. My favorite coin is the wheat penny (minted from 1909-1958) because it has my hero on one side, my favorite source of carbs on the other, and it’s the easiest to get ahold of. You could go to a coin shop and get one (or order one online) but where is the adventure? Instead, I love to find them out in the wild.

I deal with money at my job and always have an eye open for them. If I see an ugly dark coin in my till, I snatch it up, turn it over, and eagerly search for the little stalks of wheat.

One day as I quickly scanned my plastic till I spotted something I didn’t expect. A penny alright but not a wheat penny. Indian head cent (also known as an Indian head penny) lay on top of a pile of average Lincoln memorial pennies. The year 1880 etched its edge.

For more than a hundred and forty years this coin had been used for regular transactions! More ancient than any coin in the till it came from, it had been treated as average. I danced with excitement at work but on my way home my wheels started to turn.

I won’t bore you with the details of coin pricing (because frankly, I have no idea how it all works, I just collect them) but my coin was in good condition, meaning it was worth anywhere from $5 and $20. Now that doesn’t sound like a lot but remember this is a penny. Worth 0.01¢, when minted one hundred years ago, is now worth 500% to 2000% more.

But it was left on a mound of dirty pennies.

Dear writer, I’m here to tell you that you are that Indian head cent. You have value. Your writing has value. Both of you may have been treated as run-of-the-mill or below average but that doesn’t make you who you are.

This coin’s value did not decrease because of where it was placed. I could go to a coin collector and get $5, $20, or more for it. The buyer doesn’t care where I found it because he knows the value of what I have. Like God looking at us from heaven he doesn’t care where it has been, he only cares about bringing it home.

I have entered contests where the same work got a 90% from one judge and a 60% from another. How could someone treasure my story and another dislike it? It’s the same tale in the same format but two different people had two different reactions.

My work may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it could be life-changing for that right person. That right buyer.

Today I want you to think about your writing journey. Have you had some setbacks? That’s the dirt that gets caught in the crevices of the coin. Easy to remove.

Have you had some harsh critics? That’s the person who discarded the Indian head cent with the rest of the pennies. They didn’t see the value in what they had because they didn’t take the time to observe it and help the owner polish it.

The same way I dig through pennies every day looking for a treasure is the same way publishers look for a jewel of a story. They are shifting through the piles of manuscripts to find the perfect one, and you’re in the heap just waiting to be discovered.

To everyone else that penny is just a penny, but to me, it’s a treasure. You are a treasure to someone, and your work is going to be someone’s favorite story. You just have to know your value and jump into the till so someone can discover you.

Happy writing Indian head pennies! And good luck finding your story collector!

(Psst! Here are some links if you want to find out more about Indian head pennies!)

https://www.coinstudy.com/1880-indian-head-penny-value.html

Find Penny Prices and Values in the Coin Value Guides (thesprucecrafts.com)