Nickels and Dimes

In preparation for my first real shift this afternoon at the Bargain Loft I have been learning my US coins!  (You might ask how I have managed so far without knowing them and the answer is that I make sure I always pay in notes!).

The coins above, from left to right are twenty-five cents (a quarter), ten cents (a dime), five cents (a nickel) and one cent (a penny).  The main source of my confusion is that the ten cents is smaller than the five cents...

It is a mystery to me that you do not see 50 cent or dollar coins -some have been minted but tend to be collected rather than used. Hence you end up with handfuls of small coins and one dollar bills..

At one point a silver dollar was minted but very quickly it became worth more for its weight in silver than its face value, making it of limited use as coinage.

We had a good afternoon at the Bargain Loft, not least because in addition to the items sold in the shop, a Mappin and Webb silver and glass honey pot in the shape of a bee - which was recently donated - sold for $650 on eBay today.

(The above photo, borrowed from the Internet of a similar one makes the item look huge, I believe it was about 4 or 5 inches long).

On a more modest scale, I have been making some earrings with odds and ends of beads and findings, for sale at the Bargain Loft.

They have been selling quite well - mostly to the other volunteers as far as I can see!