The Personality Defect: 'A Collector'

I used to go to see a friend in Sacramento, Ca in the late 1990’s.  When your friend must work Friday’s and there’s nothing to do in Folsom, Ca.  One drives up into the Serra Foothills.  Wine tasting, the micro vineyards the Serra’s are delightful.  Plus, I am a Red Zin, Cab Franc, and Cab at heart person.  The Serra’s are known for bold peppery Zins.  Sometimes, earthy.

At 10AM on a Friday morning, it’s just you and the owner, in this case:  Charles B. Mitchell.  His winery was a little different.  Aviation and Pre-Columbian art.    We discussed both.  Here’s a quote, that I haven’t forgotten.

“I have a personality defect, I collect things,” referring to the Pre-Columbian art.

In the years since, I have collected all kinds of stuff.  Antiques, Stamps, and many other types of collectables.  Another friend of thirty years, remarked: “You are not much of a collector.”  -True.  I get board easily.  -As it turns out, my interests are the quest for (of) knowledge.  Was and always will be.

I have a whole drawer of stuff where “Zach’s been taken.”

Here enters a Racketeering Nickel:

I was fortunate to pick up an example for $12 recently.  The history and story are fascinating.  

Story goes the nickel was gold-plated and passed off as a $5 gold piece.  So, in 1885, you would order a pint, pay with a racketeering nickel, and get $4.95 in change.  Other sources state, more than $15,000 were fraudulently taken.

v/r mzl

Works Cited

Daley, J. (2016, 11 17). Brief History Racketeer Nickel. Retrieved from Smithsonian Mag: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/brief-history-racketeer-nickel-180961066/

RCTV. (n.d.). The Tale of Josh Tatum and His 1883 Racketeer Nickel. Retrieved from Rare Collectibles TV: https://www.rarecollectiblestv.com/blog/the-tale-of-josh-tatum-and-his-1883-racketeer-nickel.html