Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 December 1894 — THOSE WHO CARRY MASCOTS. [ARTICLE]

THOSE WHO CARRY MASCOTS.

tome of the Peenllarltlee of Peoplo Wk* Chrrlah Odd Souvenirs. The cher shed preservation of odd o» particular Coins as pocket-pieces is ai o|d and h.l .dess sort of idolatry frequently ind dged in by a large percentage of humanity. Such souvenirs often possess intrinsic value as well as legendary importance, but whether rep resented by a broad piece of gold or 1 battered copper-token, all hare associations or little histories of pecnliai interest to their owners. When these treasures arc finder inspection in • social way, remarks of- the following tenor are frequently heard: “This is the first bit of silver I earned “I found this half-penny near Shake peare's tomb.” ‘Daniel Webster gave that Spanish quarter to my father when a boy foi holding his horse.” “Here;” said a man, noted for bis unthrift, "is the ofity money I ever saved, and I wouldn't have saved tha* were it not made of German silver.”

It is a custom for many kind old persons to say, while tendering a bright piece of silver or gold to an emigrating lad or lass: "Keep this in your pocket and you’ll always have money.” The present and injunction are, perhaps, intended for a practical suggestion of thrift, although in most cases the lesson is likely to be disregarded. Few people possess the quality of economy to an extent that wilj fellow them to join Sbyloek in his boast of ability to make coins breed. A large number of these mementoes fall into the hands of New York money chfengers, whose locations give them daily opportunity of dealing with emigrant arrivals. While speaking of this incident in the business, one broker said: "It used to give me a pang when some poor fellow or'woman would unwrap a time-smothered piece of foreign money or remove a ]>erforated on* from a chain or faded strip of ribbon, and tearfully offer it for sale or exchange. But one soon losses sentiment in this business, and in a matter-of-fact way. I simply pay for the weigh* of most of such odds anil ends as you see heaped in that tray. I’ve had cases wherein persons who had struck prosperity have returned after a long tim* to see if their keepsakes could be identified and recovered, but the crucible of the Assay Office had generally put them beyond hope.” Sometimes a special piece of money is kept sight of with almost religious interest. "Instances are known where pawnbrokers have made advance* often enough on a reverend coin to make the interest exceed its nominal! value many times over. It is a case of indescribable horror when the owner of a metallic “mascot” or prize talisman had paid it away in some unguarded moment. Hallowed heirlooms thus have been ruthlessly swept into the coffers of an unsentimental railroad or more profane till. Tblh risk is always likely to prevail, regardless of the ways of safely storing such precious things. Nine out of ten of ths devotees of these little gods would decline the use of safe-deposit boxes or bank vaults, believing as they do that the luck or charm chances of the object only become i*otent by persona) contact.*— N. Y. Tribune.