have about fifty coins.”
“I can hardly wait to see them,” said the professor.
Henry had already turned the car around and was driving out of the airport.
“And the coins? Shall I see them at once?” asked the visitor.
“Just as soon as we get home, Andrew,” said Grandfather, smiling at Jessie. “I told you he would not pay much attention to anything but coins.”
The minute the car stopped in the driveway in front of the Alden house, they all took the professor into the dining room. The blue card was on the table before him.
CHAPTER 10
What It All Meant
P rofessor Nichols sat down at the dining room table and began to look at the coins. From an inside pocket he took a magnifying glass like one Benny had seen a watchmaker use. He fitted it into his eye.
Rory and the Aldens leaned excitedly on the table, watching the professor.
“What a sight! What a sight,” he murmured, almost to himself. “Oh, my, oh, my!”
Suddenly Professor Nichols put his finger on a gold coin.
“Look here!” he exclaimed, speaking to Benny who was nearest. “There are only ten coins like this in the whole wide world! You can see it is a four dollar gold piece. And here is one of the ten!”
“That makes the collection valuable, doesn’t it?” Benny asked.
“Valuable? Valuable? Oh, yes. It is priceless! Now look. Here is a twenty-cent piece. Did any of you ever hear of a twenty-cent piece?”
“No,” they all answered. They were fascinated by the professor and all he knew about the coins.
“Well, no wonder. These twenty-cent pieces didn’t last long. You can see that they would get mixed up with quarters. That made a lot of trouble. Nobody liked the coins. Very soon they weren’t made anymore. I haven’t seen one of them for years, and I don’t own one myself.”
“How can you tell if it is a real twenty-cent piece?” asked Benny. “We don’t know a thing about coins.”
Professor Nichols took the magnifying glass from his eye and smiled at Benny. “Of course you don’t. I’m glad to tell you. Look here. Feel the edge of this coin. It has a smooth edge for one thing. I’ll take a quarter out of my pocket. You see, the edge is milled. That means it has little ridges.”
“I see,” Rory said. “The edge of the twenty-cent piece is smooth.”
“That’s right,” the professor said. “Now look at the figure of the woman on the coin. She’s the goddess Liberty and she is often on older U. S. coins. But here on the twenty-cent piece she is sitting down. A coin collector calls this ‘Liberty Seated.’ If there were only Liberty’s head shown, it would be a different coin altogether.”
“Are all these coins valuable?” asked Mr. Alden.
“Oh, yes. Even the pennies are valuable. Somebody knew what he was doing when he collected these. However, the gold piece and the twenty-cent piece are the best of all.”
“What about that Indian-head penny?” Jessie asked.
Professor Nichols smiled. “A lot of people like to collect pennies. Some pennies are very hard to find and that makes them worth a lot. But most of the pennies here are worn. That makes them of less value. They’re interesting to people just beginning to collect coins.”
Henry said, “All of these coins are forty years old at least.”
The professor said, “This may surprise you. Sometimes the oldest coin is not worth the most. I have coins from Roman times that are not worth as much as some of these U. S. coins. That’s because the fewer there are, the more each one is worth.”
“I see,” Benny said. “That’s interesting.”
Rory nodded. “Aye,” he said softly.
Professor Nichols turned to Mr. Alden. “James,” he said, “this is an unusual collection. And it is put together in an unusual way. There must be a story behind it. Who owns it?”
“I really don’t know,” said Grandfather. “But we know who used to own it. The children found the coins after a great hunt. They followed a lot of false clues. One
“I can hardly wait to see them,” said the professor.
Henry had already turned the car around and was driving out of the airport.
“And the coins? Shall I see them at once?” asked the visitor.
“Just as soon as we get home, Andrew,” said Grandfather, smiling at Jessie. “I told you he would not pay much attention to anything but coins.”
The minute the car stopped in the driveway in front of the Alden house, they all took the professor into the dining room. The blue card was on the table before him.
CHAPTER 10
What It All Meant
P rofessor Nichols sat down at the dining room table and began to look at the coins. From an inside pocket he took a magnifying glass like one Benny had seen a watchmaker use. He fitted it into his eye.
Rory and the Aldens leaned excitedly on the table, watching the professor.
“What a sight! What a sight,” he murmured, almost to himself. “Oh, my, oh, my!”
Suddenly Professor Nichols put his finger on a gold coin.
“Look here!” he exclaimed, speaking to Benny who was nearest. “There are only ten coins like this in the whole wide world! You can see it is a four dollar gold piece. And here is one of the ten!”
“That makes the collection valuable, doesn’t it?” Benny asked.
“Valuable? Valuable? Oh, yes. It is priceless! Now look. Here is a twenty-cent piece. Did any of you ever hear of a twenty-cent piece?”
“No,” they all answered. They were fascinated by the professor and all he knew about the coins.
“Well, no wonder. These twenty-cent pieces didn’t last long. You can see that they would get mixed up with quarters. That made a lot of trouble. Nobody liked the coins. Very soon they weren’t made anymore. I haven’t seen one of them for years, and I don’t own one myself.”
“How can you tell if it is a real twenty-cent piece?” asked Benny. “We don’t know a thing about coins.”
Professor Nichols took the magnifying glass from his eye and smiled at Benny. “Of course you don’t. I’m glad to tell you. Look here. Feel the edge of this coin. It has a smooth edge for one thing. I’ll take a quarter out of my pocket. You see, the edge is milled. That means it has little ridges.”
“I see,” Rory said. “The edge of the twenty-cent piece is smooth.”
“That’s right,” the professor said. “Now look at the figure of the woman on the coin. She’s the goddess Liberty and she is often on older U. S. coins. But here on the twenty-cent piece she is sitting down. A coin collector calls this ‘Liberty Seated.’ If there were only Liberty’s head shown, it would be a different coin altogether.”
“Are all these coins valuable?” asked Mr. Alden.
“Oh, yes. Even the pennies are valuable. Somebody knew what he was doing when he collected these. However, the gold piece and the twenty-cent piece are the best of all.”
“What about that Indian-head penny?” Jessie asked.
Professor Nichols smiled. “A lot of people like to collect pennies. Some pennies are very hard to find and that makes them worth a lot. But most of the pennies here are worn. That makes them of less value. They’re interesting to people just beginning to collect coins.”
Henry said, “All of these coins are forty years old at least.”
The professor said, “This may surprise you. Sometimes the oldest coin is not worth the most. I have coins from Roman times that are not worth as much as some of these U. S. coins. That’s because the fewer there are, the more each one is worth.”
“I see,” Benny said. “That’s interesting.”
Rory nodded. “Aye,” he said softly.
Professor Nichols turned to Mr. Alden. “James,” he said, “this is an unusual collection. And it is put together in an unusual way. There must be a story behind it. Who owns it?”
“I really don’t know,” said Grandfather. “But we know who used to own it. The children found the coins after a great hunt. They followed a lot of false clues. One
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