San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-09-20
ROMANCE OF A COIN.
Spurned by n Bartender, Bought for
800 by a Numismatist.

Spurned by n bartender, Bought for
800 by a Numismatist.
From being turned down when Of
fered in payment for kettle of beer
to being purchased by a numismatic
for 500 is in brief the recent history
of an ancient coin found by some labor
ers the other day. The details be-
tween the time of the finding of the
coin and the disposition of it are in
teresting, as showing how, after chang
ing hands several times and being the
subject of several proposed bargains,
but not consummated, the coin sprang
from the depths of ignominy-spurned
by a bartender-to its proper place as
recognized treasure.
1t was discovered by laborers who
were making an excavation at Broad
and Catherine streets. 1t was a dis
reputable thing to be called coin,
being so long covered with dirt that
the image and superscription were not
recognizable. The man who picked it
up looked at it doubtfully.
81 don't know what it is" he said,
cor how much it's worth, but guess
it's good for kettle of beer, any
way"
And so the long buried coin started
on its journey to prominence. 1t was
thrown on the bar of nearby saloon,
offered in exchange for a cold, froth-
ing kettle of lager. The bartender eyed
it suspiciously.
mo good" was his verdict, uttered in
the cold and unsympathetic tone which
only bartender can use, as he sees
coins and apologies for coins of all sorts
thrown before him by thirsty NOR
tails.
The finder of the coin was disappoint-
ed. He wanted the beer. He began to
argue the case and attracted the atten-
ton of another man in the saloon, who
took up the coin and examined it.
"Tn give you so cents for it," and
the next moment it was in his pocket,
the finder of the coin paid for his beer,
disappeared, came back and had the
kettle reflled, disappeared again, and
so on until the half dollar was gone
He and his friends thought it was
great piece of luck to find coin worth
half dollar.
Then came a rapid exchanging of
hands, so far as the coin was concerned
The man who paid so cents for it showed
Il to friend, who offered him dol
lar for it. The deal was promptly
closed. Then the man who had paid
the dollar found man who was will
ing to give five dollars for it, and again
the coin changed owners.
But here the locust-story phase of
the coins history ceases. The next
chapter was one of bidding and the re-
fusal of bids. The five-dollar man took
it to a coin dealer, who offered him $50
for it. The five-dollar man said he'd
think it over, and went to another
dealer.
twenty-five dollars was the figure
offerd by dealer No. 2, but the fve-dollar
man still held on to the coin. "If one
man offers $50, and you are willing to
pay $685." he said to the coin dealer,
"the next one l strike may make it
S3O."
The dealer thereupon offered to take
the coin and find buyer at once, get
ting the most he could for it, and de-
Quoting per cent. commission. The
owner agreed, and the coin was taken
to a well-known numismatist, who saw
it was no everyday find. 1t was an
old English coin, containing about SIC
worth of gold, but valued at many times
that much money, because there are, it
is said, only four of the kind in exist
ence.
The coin was purchased for 500, and
the buyer is not expected to lose money,
even at that figure. Indeed, the other
three coins of the kind are said to have
sold for as high as $500 apiece.-Phila-
delphia Inquirer.