Don O’Connor’s
LincolnCENTury
GAME:
a family heirloom coin savings game to play for several generations!
With this game, you will make a 100 year collection of U.S. pennies, 1909 to 2009, and put away a family heirloom collection of coins to open by your family in 100 years, on Christmas Day, 2109.. or on Lincoln's Birthday, 2109, if you do not celebrate Christmas!
A simple, fun way to save!
*****************
Don O’Connor's LINCOLNCENTury GAME
has 2 basic parts:
Part A: for the Keeper(s)
Get 100 envelopes: put one penny in each envelope. Number the envelopes 2009 to 2109. In the 2009 envelope, put a 100 year old penny, a 1909 cent. A 1910 penny goes in the 2010 envelope, and so on. The 2109 envelope may have dozens of 2009 pennies in it. You can put 1 penny in each envelope, or more than one. (If you use large manila envelopes you can put ROLLS of pennies in each one.)
The 2108 envelope, for example can have lots of 2008 pennies in it, because they are easy to find in your daily change. The same for envelopes 2070 to 2107 because you will still find lots 1959 to 2007 pennies in circulation today. Easy to do! Harder to fill the 1909 to 1958 pennies. You may have to buy some from coin dealers.
Part B: to open by your descendants at Chrismas 2109: Get a roll (fifty cents) or a box ($25.00) of new uncirculated 2009 pennies. They are available on Ebay and from delaers.This will be your LINCOLNCENTury GIFT BOX, to be opened by your family descendants, Christmas, 2109.
The envelopes in “PART A” are known as KEEPER ENVELOPES. Someone in your family will be named the KEEPER of this Game.
You will give this game to a KEEPER in your family this Christmas, 2011
A daughter, a son, niece or nephew, grandchild. That KEEPER gets to KEEP the contents of 1 envelope, opening one each year at Christmas. They will open the 2011 envelope this Christmas, and KEEP the 100 year old (1911) coin inside, their reward for KEEPING this GAME going. They could be the KEEPER for many years, and in 10 to 40 years, pass this game along to their son or daughter to be the next KEEPER, who will pass it along until year 2109.
Part B: At 100 years, the GIFT BOX is opened at Christmas, and shared with all of your Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren. They will get bright, shiny uncirculated 100 year old Lincoln pennies, that could have considerable collector value then.
The larger a GIFT BOX, the more they share in 2109.
All this game costs you is a fifty cent roll of new pennies for the GIFT BOX, or $25 if you use a case of pennies, plus the loose change you get in trade every day…to fill your 100 KEEPER ENVELOPES.
That is the basic idea of this game. As you read more about it, you will discover this is a fun way to begin saving, for college education,
to buy a home, whatever goals you have.
Happy saving!
Copyright 2009 Don O’Connor’s LINCOLNCENTury GAME BASIC RECIPE PAGE
See www.donoconnor.com on the page LincolnCENTury Game
Don O’Connor revised July 8 2011
**************
In 2009 the U S Mint produced 4 new designs of Lincoln pennies to commemorate to 200th anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln. I predict that millions of Americans will collect these commemorative coins, and save them for the future. You can be one of them!
That is why I am suggesting you begin at once to collect old Lincoln pennies (and rolls of new 2000 to 2008 cents too), before the prices of older cents go up, and to preserve 2000 and 2008 pennies in "new condition"... uncirculated. Just get them at a bank!
A few years ago, I tried to think of a gift for young adult members of my family to instill a valuable life lesson (saving money) combined with a fun hobby… with a bit of history and genealogy thrown in. Since then I’ve refined the concept into something I call the LINCOLNCENTury GAME… and I’m happy to introduce it to you, to anyone who wants to impart a life lesson to family or friends about saving money.
Briefly, here is the idea: save pennies...1909 to 2009... lots of them. Lincoln “Wheat Pennies”, minted from 1909 to 1958. Save, or buy, a quantity of those. Also save Lincoln Memorial Cents minted 1959 to 2008. Make a collection of at least 1 penny from each year, or lots more than 1 per year. Zillions, if you want. (* See below.)
Why?
In 2009 the mint has redesigned the penny.
4 new designs minted in the Lincoln Penny Centennial Year 2009. If you begin to collect lots of Lincoln coins now, you could have the core of a collection with future value!
There is a second part of the GAME: get 50 rolls (a $25 box) of newly minted 2009 pennies from the bank… and make a GIFT KIT of your 100 years of pennies plus your $25 GIFT BOX. You will give this GIFT to a family member this Christmas, 2109.
The family member will share part of the 100 years of coins you have collected, and watch over the $25 GIFT BOX and pass it along to future generations of your family, to open on Christmas Day, 2109. Yes, 2109. That box will contain 2,500 newly minted “about uncirculated” 100 year old 2009 Lincoln pennies! How much could they be worth in 2109? $1 per coin? At present, if you go to a coin dealer to buy a 1909 penny, you will find prices from $1 each to many times that amount. So here’s the math: 2,500 pennies at $10 each might be worth???? Is that $25,000?
* From now to Christmas, 20010 you have the time you need to find and sort out the pennies you’ll give this Christmas, to start your family member on a collection of their own which has a distinct possibility to appreciate in value.
But more than appreciation, your young family member may learn a sense of the value of saving money for college, to buy a home or for retirement.
Please read about it and see color photos here at www.donoconnor.com on the page LINCOLNCENTury GAME.
Make a GAME yourself… there is no cost to you except the pennies you save… a win-win opportunity if ever there was one! Good luck and have fun!
Don O’Connor…Realtor, game inventor, photographer
***************
Don O’Connor’s LINCOLN CENTury Game
The NUTS and BOLTS… the parts you need to play this game.
Pennies, lots of them, more the merrier. Search penny jars, ask relatives, friends, neighbors to hand you all their pennies… no we’re not talking about a “Holdup”. If they have $12 in pennies, give them $12 in paper money. They’ll thank you for taking them off their bureau at home. Do not, repeat… do not suggest they take coins to a friendly “Coin Counting Machine” somewhere. That coin counting machine will gobble up the pennies, including possible older collectable pennies, and you’ll never see those pennies again. Worse, the “friendly machine” will CHARGE them to count those pennies! For every $10 run through the machine, you only get to keep $9.30, maybe less! What’s so “friendly” about that? If your neighbors and friends hand $10 in pennies to you, count coins and give $10 in paper money back. They'll do much better with you!
You can also get rolls of pennies at a bank. Don’t become a nuisance. Just ask at the window for 2 rolls of pennies and give them a dollar bill. You can repeat this as long as you want, during 2009. Try different banks. Open a savings account at your local bank. This is part of this LINCOLN CENTury Game. After you have sorted your coins, some of them will be scratched or dented, not collectable. These are the coins you will deposit back into your savings account. After you have searched $100 in pennies, you will have many or most of the 100 years of pennies you need for your collection. Now you can afford to be selective. If you want, you can keep searching pennies to add the choice ones, the rare ones you find, into the 100 KEEPER ENVELOPES. After a while, of the $100 in pennies you search, you may only put $5 of them into your 2009 LINCOLN CENTury Game. The other $95 can go into your savings account. (Nothing will stop you from adding coins to this LINCOLN CENTury Game for the next 10 years, putting $95 a year or more into your LINCOLN SAVINGS ACCOUNT. In time you’ll have $1,000 that you have saved, just by saving pennies! Many people today say “I can’t save dollars. Life is too expensive.” Can you save pennies? Do you want to save $1,000 or more for college or a home purchase? Here’s your fun way to do it!
How do you sort pennies? Try this: At your local supermarket they get apples in a big box. Inside the box are plastic trays to hold apples. Each dimple in the tray… there are 20 or so…is about the size of an apple.. not surprisingly! This makes a dandy tray to hold 20 years of pennies. Cut a post-it type of sticky note into small squares to label each cup in the tray with the number of each year. 5 trays, you’ll have 100 years. Simple! You can experiment with zip lock plastic bags too. One bag each year.
Do you like to recycle? I do. Carefully open the end of the paper roll that holds 50 pennies. As you sort 50 1995 pennies, you can write “1995” on that paper roll, repack it with 50 1995 pennies. This roll will go into the 2095 KEEPER ENVELOPE. Pretty simple. Do the same with other years. You may have to buy paper penny wrappers. Store pennies in those small plastic containers that rolls of film come in. Buy tuna salad or anything at the deli counter in ¼ pound size. At our store, they pack it in a nice plastic cup with a snap on lid. After you have cleaned this cup (peel off the price label) use a magic marker to number the year on each, get 100. Store coins in these. The containers are free. I love free… You can use these in place of KEEPER ENVELOPES. They are big enough to put a note inside each cup. Not big enough for photos though.
100 envelopes as keeper envelopes, small coin envelopes, or #10 business envelopes (cheaper than coin envelopes) or big manila envelopes (about $10 a hundred at the office supply store… you may want to use big manila envelopes if you plan to put lots of family photos and documents away for the KEEPER and family to share in years to come. Big 9”X12” envelopes like these are good if you want to put many rolls of coins into each KEEPER YEAR ENVELOPE.)
If you are making a LINCOLN CENTury Game with 9”X12” envelopes just mentioned, and a 100 year GIFT BOX of pennies using $25 to $100 in uncirculated new pennies… you are going to have a very heavy box!
Back to the supermarket. A sturdy banana box, rugged if unglamorous, is a good choice. You may have to cut a thin plywood rectangle to make a floor in the bottom of your banana box.
Are you a woodworker? Here’s your chance to make a splendid wood gift box, dovetail joint corners, brass handles, the works. This will be an heirloom item to pass down for generations. Remember, it may go under the family Christmas tree to open one envelope each year for 100 years! Make it nice! You are creating a family tradition, and this fine box is tangible proof of your creation. Have you always wanted to create a family tradition? This is it!
Not a woodworker? At office supply stores, they sell small family safes, the size of a briefcase. Price: $35 to $100. Most are fireproof, some waterproof. (Remember New Orleans? Could a flood happen to your family in the next 100 years?) This safe is a great place to keep your LINCOLN CENTury Game along with other valuable family documents, like the DEED to your home.
The inventor of this game, Don O’Connor, is a Realtor, and he thinks of things like that! This box becomes a great place for family valuables. If you are a youngster, and making a starter kit with one roll of pennies (fifty cents) a shoe box will do. There are lots of free boxes at the supermarket. In 20 years, you can add to your kit, and make a bigger box. In high school shop class, you can design and build your own family heirloom box with your brass nameplate! Do they have a shop or craft barn at your summer camp? There’s your project!
Don O’Connor’ LINCOLNCENTury Game copyright 2009 www.donoconnor.com
"Nuts and Bolts" The parts of your Game Nov. 4, 2009
**********
(Above, Lincoln cents, sorted by year, by you, about to be put into KEEPER ENVELOPES...
Don O'Connor photo)
**************
Don O’Connor’s LINCOLN CENTury Game
Why do this????
As a parent, I designed this game to inspire younger family members to start saving with enthusiasm. As anyone creates this game, they will automatically start to save money. An elementary school game player, at $1 a week, is saving $50 a year. A high school student, saving $10 a week to search pennies, that’s $500 a year. They may create a box with a “face value” of $50 inside. The rest of the $450 “saved” as they search rolls of pennies, can be put into a savings account for college, or pay their share of auto insurance on the family car! Did you stop to think that a 15 year old High School student may be less that 10 years away from being a home owner?
Now is the time to begin saving to buy a home!
A young adult, 20 to 40, can make a kit at most any level they want, with a “face value GAME” at $100 to $1,000… they can create a GAME at the birth of a child. They can KEEP the kit themselves (they are the GIVER, GENERATION #1) until their child’s 21st birthday. Now the child, son or daughter, becomes the KEEPER for the kit for the next 20 years or more: (they are GENERATION #2) They KEEP the kit until their child, who is the Grandchild of the original GIVER, reaches age 21. Generation #2 presents the LINCOLN CENTury Game to the grandchild (now Generation#3) who in all likelihood will be alive at Christmas 2109 to share in the value of the GIFT BOX. (If a child, at about age 10, creates this LINCOLN CENTury Game, the KEEPER of this GAME could be the son or daughter of this 10 year old child in year 2109, just 1 generation later. Very possible!)
Someone age 40 to 80 can make a LINCOLN CENTury Game to give to a son or daughter, or grandchildren to KEEP. The size of the LINCOLN CENTury Game this GIVER creates is limited only by imagination. A box valued at $100…$500….$1,000? Whatever! And a GIVER at this stage of life can also fill the box with lots of family memorabilia, photos, etc.
A social, service, school or civic group can run a penny drive, with a $10,000 goal to create a LINCOLN CENTury Game of whatever value you want. This finished GAME to be auctioned off at whatever value you determine as you create the GAME. If you collect $10,000 and dedicate $500 to make a LINCOLN CENTury Game and then auction the game off for $1,000… your event will raise $10,500 for your cause.
More reasons for the game? It rewards thrift, saving, generates interest in coin collecting, recycling ( you can see photos of this recycling at www.donoconnor.com ), the history of coins and President Lincoln.
As a school project; high school or college level, a class or club sorting $100 to $1,000 can keep accurate records on how many pennies are sorted from each year, a study in statistics, math, algebra. A high school group collecting $1,000 can save much of this money for band instruments, class trip…help offset prom costs…
Photographers, family or professional, will have interest in this to take a series of family photos to put into the 100 yearly KEEPER ENVELOPES and into the 2109 GIFT BOX, all photos labeled with names of family members, and the photographer!
But most of all, this has to be fun, or most of us would not do it. I get great satisfaction in creating LINCOLN CENTury Games for younger family members. I believe the KEEPERS will enjoy opening the “ENVELOPE OF THE YEAR” AT EACH CHRISTMAS. I firmly believe that family members, at Christmas, 2109, will be thrilled to get a present valued at hundreds, possibly thousands…of dollars. I would have! Would you?
Inside the 2109 GIFT BOX can be a detailed genealogy of the family from 2009 to 2109, possibly 1900 to 2109 if we can find, duplicate, identify and label family photos going back as far as we can. That is the hardest part (1900 to 2000) and that is a good reason we as a family should be enthusiastic to create and KEEP a LINCOLN CENTury Game over the next Century! No more unlabelled photos! Every family photo that you want to label and include in GIFT KITS for the next 100 years will find an orderly place in KEEPER ENVELOPES and the 2109 GIFT BOX. Finally, a great place to KEEP pictures.
Appreciation? As I look at the present value of 1908 pennies, I see prices of $2 to $50 per penny! And that is for ordinary pennies, not scarce collector items, where values soar! A box of $25 2009 Lincoln pennies may appreciate to high value, and only costs me $25. I like that! I am not aware of another investment I can make, at such low cost, which has such appreciation possibility in 100 years. (Yes, I know about the stock market… and I know it will take more than $25 as an initial investment. The stock market could go to zero value. A $25 LINCOLN CENTury Game will not dip below $25.) If Uncle Sam, God Bless him, should discontinue minting pennies, they will become instant collector items, and I will wish I had saved a zillion of these little beauties.
A last reason…cash value… This is one of the few hobbies I can think of that creates actual cash on hand! Anyone who makes 10 boxes over 10 years will have “X amount” of cash available if a dire emergency arises. You can’t “spend” the value of an art collection in an emergency! In a dire emergency, the value of stocks could plummet. Pennies won’t. I’ll put my trust in Mr. Lincoln’s penny. It is the last coin made with a metal of value (especially all those minted of copper, before 1983.) All the rest have gone to cheaper clad imitations. Pennies, especially those before 1983, are still a great item to save! (More directions for this game shown at www.donoconnor.com )
Don O’Connor’s Lincoln CENTury Game copyright 2009 Why Do This? revised Nov. 4, 2009
(May 23, 2009 NOTE: I am at Austin TX today to attend the graduation of a daughter at Univ. of Texas, and I discover that the new 2009 Lincoln cents are in circulation, and available in your change at the Austin Texas Wal Mart!)
*********
Don O’Connor’s LINCOLN CENTury Game
What is the true object of this game?
To have fun while saving.
To inspire a sense of saving money: Most young people, maybe most people, feel they cannot save. It may be true that saving lots of dollars is a problem, so this game will ease any player into the benefits of saving.
Start with pennies, then, as you recognize the value of saving later in life (hopefully sooner) you’ll start saving dollars.
To discover a new Hobby: coin collecting, history, photography, geneaology, woodworking, metalworking, investing; possibly GPS gaming.
To create a MAJOR FUND RAISER: For some cause of interest to you and your group. Working together as a group.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE: history, statistics, investing; possibly GPS science.
To make money: this is not the immediate goal. As you read more about the LINCOLN CENTury Game you will see that maximum results are realized only after many years. This is not a “get rich quick” idea. In fact, it may take years, possibly 100 years, to realize a significant return. Like any “investment” there is never a guarantee of upward value. Investments can go up, and go down. The beauty of this hobby game is: your “investment” will never be lower than the cash value you have put in!
A stock market plan, in theory, could fall to zero.
The LINCOLN CENTury Game will not!
This is a great game for parents and Grandparents to create a coin collecting gift for a child or a grandchild. Also a great idea for any young person, age 10 to 25 to make a kit like this for themselves, to save to buy a home, college tuition or any worthwhile goal.
Happy collecting, happy saving, and most of all, have fun with this!
Don O’Connor, Inventor
Don’s email is DonRealtor@adelphia.net
What’s the point? Don O’Connor’s LINCOLNCENTury GAME copyright 2009
For full details on how to play this savings game, see www.donoconnor.com Nov. 4, 2009
********
Don O’Connor’s LINCOLN CENTury Game
Who is the KEEPER? How old are YOU now?
Lets take 3 groups:
age 10 to 20; age 20 to 50; and 50 plus.
If you create a LINCOLN CENTury Game, you will decide who will KEEP charge of this CENTury Game until the year the GIFT BOX will be shared, 100 years from now. You are the GIVER in this game.
If you are 10 years old, you can make a kit with a 50 cent roll of new 2008 pennies, and $10 of pocket change sorted into 100 KEEPER ENVELOPES.
Don’t worry if every envelope has a coin in it. As KEEPER, you can enjoy the fun of coin collecting by finding more coins you need to make a 100 year set. You can build your CENTury Game over these next few years.
You don’t have to do it all in 2009 or 2010. Maybe you have a relative who is a coin collector who will help you out… mow the lawn for Uncle Willie and Uncle Willie pays you $10 and gives you a 1909 Lincoln penny from his coin collection. He’ll need 10 more mows next year too, and a car wash.
You are age 10 to 20 now, and you make a kit: YOU can be the KEEPER for the next 10 to 50 years. When you are ready, and you have a son or daughter or niece or nephew to present the CENTury Game to, give it to them at Christmas, 2059 or whenever you want. Or create a kit now, and give it to a brother, sister or cousin this year, at Christmas, 2009. They’ll be surprised!
You are now age 20 to 50: you can probably afford to create a mid sized kit, one that you invest (save) $50 to $500. Create a kit each year a child is born in your family. If your child was born this year, you KEEP the kit until that child is 21, and give it to them, Christmas, 2029. You get the KEEPER ENVELOPES now to then.
Have adult children now? Make a kit or kits to give to them THIS Christmas. They will be the KEEPERS for the next 20 to 50 years, until they are ready to gift this kit to their children (your Grandchildren.)
Your Grandchildren or Great Grandchildren will likely be alive to share the $25 GIFT KIT at Christmas, 2108. If you invest a lot more in your kit, they will divide a lot more. Pretty simple math; this is not rocket science…
You are now age 50 plus: you have an adult son or daughter: make and give a kit to them THIS CHRISTMAS, 2009. They can keep the kit 10 to 40 years and then gift the kit to their child, niece, nephew.
Or, you have a grandchild now. Make a kit to give to a Grandchild (who may be 10 to 15 years old) this Christmas. Pretty impressive gift, valued at face value of $50 to $500. You might be planning to spend that amount on a Grandchild this year anyway. Here, you are giving them a gift that can inspire them to begin saving (KEEPERS can add to this collection too!)
Is this better than giving some electronic gizmo that will be space junk in weeks? Here, you are giving a gift that instills a value for life. Savings.
Copyright 2009 Don O’Connor’s LINCONLCENTuryGAME Who is the KEEPER? Nov. 4, 2009 THIS IS FORM K
***********
Don O’Connor’s LINCOLN CENTury Game
The Fifty year LINCOLN CENTury Game
You may decide this is a great idea, but you and your family don’t want to wait 100 years for a reward. You want to be there when the GIFT BOX is opened. Not too likely with a 100 year kit…Christmas, 2109.
So, you make a fifty year kit!
Here’s how you do it. Take 50 envelopes, and each envelope has 2 years of coins, 1909 and 1910; 1911 and 1912, etc.
These are KEEPER ENVELOPES
Make a GIFT BOX as before, with $25 in new uncirculated 2009 pennies. Also, in this gift box, get as many 1940 to 1958 Wheat pennies as you can find, or buy at a reasonable price. As this is written, Novemner 4, , 2009, it is possible to buy 1940 to 1958 Lincoln Wheat pennies for 10 cents each, or less. Buy 100 of these pennies ($10) or 500 ($50) or as many as you want.
Be good to your family and yourself. Remember, if you are age 20 today, you may be living to share the GIFT BOX at Christmas, 2059. You will be 70 then, and a high value gift box (to share with your relatives) may come in very handy for YOUR retirement. Especially if Social Security is reduced. Your 1940 to 1958 Wheat pennies will be at least 100 years old by 2058!
If this is true, why wouldn’t you create a 50 year gift box for you and family to share, once a year for the next 10 years? You may be there to share, each Christmas, 2059 to 2069. You will be 70 to 80 years old, if you are 20 today. Could be handy to supplement retirement income, Social Security or whatever may be out there. If you do this, you will be creating your OWN Social Security System. Makes you dream of putting a $1,000 value into each kit you make for the next 10 years. You don’t have to dream… you can do this. If you are not “there to share” in 2059 (Gulp) your son or daughter will be just 25 to 30. Your $1,000 kit could be a big help for a down payment on their first home. That is another goal of the LINCOLN CENTury Game! Those 1940 to 1958 Wheat Pennies may be worth $1 each to $50 each in 2059. They will be 100 year old coins. Today, 100 year old coins (1909 coins) easily fetch $1 to $50. Check this out for yourself. Go and buy a 1909 coin….you are in for sticker shock!
100 collector pennies, at a value of $1 each is $100. At $10 each is $1,000 at $50 each… $5,000 you get the idea. Can you buy 1,000 Lincoln coins of the years 1940 to 1958 today to put away for 50 years? The reward in 2058 will be how much???
The LINCOLN CENTury Game has no guarantee that coins will increase in value. We can only look at past example, where they clearly have. At the very worst, playing this game will at least start you on a savings plan. You will have money in the future that you may not have saved!
Don O’Conor’s LINCOLNCENTury Game copyright 2009 The 50 Year Kit: Novenber 4, 2009
**********
Here’s a COLLEGE REUNION variation
of Don O’Connor’s LINCOLN CENTury Game!
I’m not much for going to College Reunions. Just never was my style…
Maybe this idea will change that:
This idea is a fund raiser for your College or University: Alumni Office to organize it:
In your alumni news, the LINCOLN CENTury Game is described in detail. Set a goal to collect $10,000… a million pennies. Alumni contributes $10,000 in pennies in this fund raiser, which you may run for 3 to 12 months. Every time there’s an event at your college, have a penny collection point. Homecoming game, class reunion days, by mail, the works.
Appoint a student group to inspect the coins for “Wheat pennies”.. those older than 1958. These are saved to make part of the “KEEPER ENVELOPES”. Say you have $300 in 1909 to 1958 coins. From $10,000 that leaves $9,700. Take $200 in other coins, use them to buy good quality Lincoln Pennies, 1909 to 2009, as needed to make a valuable coin collection. From the $10,000 you will also have many coins 1958 to 2009 in excellent condition to fill the KEEPER ENVELOPES. Now you have a superior KEEPER set, dated 1909 to 2009.
Next, take $25 to $100. Get (at the bank) rolls of new uncirculated 2009 Lincoln pennies, (all 4 new designs) and maybe a box of new nickels and/or quarters. Have a bank on campus? Ask their help!
Last, get a really nice gift box to hold this entire LINCOLN CENTury Game. Get a beautiful wooden presentation box, or a home security safe box (available from $35 to $100 at office supply stores… your college bookstore or business department can probably order one for you at wholesale…) The LINCOLN CENTury Game goes into that box.
So; let’s do some math. You collect $10,000 and spend about $800 to create the GIFT BOX in total, box included. Your fund nets $9,200
Last, hold an auction to sell the LINCOLN CENTury Game which you have assembled. Publish this as a silent auction in the Alumni News, or hold a live auction at a big event (halftime of a major football game on homecoming day?) If that box sells for $2,000, your fund raiser will net $11,200 ($9,200 plus $2,000). Bids should be good, and they ought to start at $800 to say the least… they’re bidding on a box of cash, remember? The long term value of $800 in antique and freshly minted coins should be substantial. Want to prove the thesis? Do a poll on the internet, interview coin dealers… see what antique coins are selling for today. What will hundreds or thousands of these coins be worth in 100 years?
Ask graduates who are coin collectors to offer their opinions…
Wait, there’s more…
Do some creative thinking here. In your ALUMNI NEWS, ask each graduate to contribute to this game as follows: “Did you graduate in 1958? Look through your penny jar at home and contribute all the 1958 LINCOLN CENTS you can find. (Go to a coin shop and buy some!)”
The class that donates the most Lincoln coins wins some kind of prize. If you don’t have a specific use in mind for the proceeds of the fund raiser, the winning class gets to vote from 3 or 4 choices as to where the $11,200 goes. You can think of something. But also, you’ll have to figure a formula to count Class Contributions. There are more potential donors in the class of 1999 than there may be in the Class of 1967. You’re smart. You’ll figure this out!
Encourage class graduates to donate pennies from their graduation year, and also more pennies from any year they have in a jar at home. All pennies before 1959 are hard to find, and your fund will not get many! One graduate from 1958 may find only three 1958 pennies, and you certainly want more than a 3 cent contribution!
So, you’ve made a LINCOLN CENTury Game. If you don’t want to auction it off, let your University keep the LINCOLN CENTury Game in a safe and open it in 100 years. It will be a significant gift to a scholarship fund in 2109. Maybe $100,000. Maybe more. Email me and we can compare some math notes on that. The results will surprise you.
I am at donrealtor@roadrunner.com and I welcome any ideas you have on this plan.
The numbers you see here are fairly modest, for a small to medium school. A big University could net well over $10,000. One young man earning his Eagle Scout Rank collected $11,143 for his cause. What could a University with 40,000 graduates generate? Think about it !
A few other ideas to add to this recipe… The Alumni News could ask all Alums to send state quarters from the state they live in now. These State Quarters could be donated into the 100 year Gift Box. If each Alum wanted to pack a quarter or quarters inside a manila coin envelope with his or her name onto the envelope, they could. This will be opened in 100 years. Something like putting a note in a bottle and tossing into the “Sea Of Life”, not to be discovered until it washes up on a student’s doorstep when this “Time Capsule Gift Box" is opened by some lucky winner in 100 years.
Speaking of winner, the LINCOLN CENTury Game could be sold as a raffle. Every contributor could get a raffle ticket, one per donation or one ticket for each dollar donated as pennies. The raffle ticket could be drawn on Lincoln’s Birthday (2010?) and the winner announced in your Alumni News.
Graduates, many of whom are professionals earning significant incomes, may be in a position to make significant donations to your Alumnae Drive. Some may be coin collectors now, and could donate from their coin collection, or they may be in a position to buy and donate Proof Set Coins to go into the GIFT BOX. Graduates could be asked to send State Quarters from the state where they now reside, to add to the contents of the GIFT BOX.
A school with even a modest number of graduates could generate a significant source of income from a LINCOLNCENTury Game.
Copyright 2009 Don O’Connor’s LINCOLNCENTury GAME :
College Class Reunion
rev. Nov. 4, 2009
*********
This is form NHTT Nov. 4, 2009
A New Hampshire Turnpike Token
Looking for more things to put into the 2109 GIFT BOX or 2009 KEEPER ENVELOPES?
Try these… New Hampshire Turnpike Tokens! These may have collector value in future years for 2 reasons:
(1) They have been discontinued to use for turnpike tolls.
(2) The are minted with an impression of the “Old Man Of The Mountain” which no longer exists! Sadly, this landmark, known around the world, has come crashing down in a rockslide, and no longer looks out over our New Hampshire White Mountains!
Your state may have tokens no longer used; find those too, or subway/bus tokens. Even your expired dog tag from your dog will have sentimental value! Put in small manila envelope and mark the year, maybe with a photo of your dog; label the back side of the photo with date.
A few tips on how to handle coins or tokens for your LINCOLNCENTury COIN COLLECTION:
Do not put tape or glue on your coins.
Do not clean old pennies, other coins or tokens.
Do not handle bright shiny new coins with bare hands. Sweat or oil from fingers can mark the coins over time, and reduce value.
Keep your LINCOLNCENTury GAME in a safe place. In time, years from now, your coin collection has the possibility of becoming valuable. Consider 2 places to keep it; divide your collection into at least 2 parts, keep one part at home and one part with a relative. In event of fire or theft, you will still have a basic setup to continue your collection. If your GIFT BOX is a full box $25 of new 2009 pennies, we do not suggest breaking up that box. Part of the fun of this idea is: your descendants will be breaking open an untouched box of new, uncirculated 2009 coins on Christmas Day, 2109, an event to remember! So, if you want to divide your kit into 2 parts, consider getting two $25 boxes of new coins.
Would you have spent $50 for Christmas presents this Christmas anyway?
Don O’Connor’s LINCOLNCENTury GAME, copyright 2009 details at www.donoconnor.com
*********
This site updated November 4, 2009
(You can also play this game using the new $1.00 Presidential Coins which started in 2007 from the mint.)
From time to time this game will be updated with improvements and new ideas. Your ideas are invited! To get notice of updates, please email DonRealtor@roadrunner.com and put in the subject line LINCOLNCENTury GAME UPDATES.
Do you have a friend or family member who collects coins?
Do you know a coin dealer? Ask them to look at this page too!
If you want to email a friend to see this page, copy and paste this link into your email to direct them to this page
http://lincolncenturygame.donoconnor.com
Some folks have copies of Free Sample Bookmarks that say "President Lincoln facts"
here are the answers to fill yours in:
Year Abraham Born 1809
year became President 1860
Year began second term____ 1865
date of Gettysburg address____Nov. 19, 1863
Date of Emancipation Proclamation____Took effect Jan. 1, 1863
date he died April 15, 1865
Year the first Lincoln cent made by the U.S. Mint 1909
Do you know what OTHER U.S. penny was minted that same year, 1909?
Year the first Lincoln Memorial cent was made 1959
There are 3 columns on this page. Scroll to the right, to the bottom of column 3 for a free offer!
Feb. 16, 2009: The U S Post Office has just begun printing 4 new designs of Abraham Lincoln first class stamps. A sheet of 20 sells for under $9. It may be a good idea to buy several sheets as "collector items" to save as part of your 2109 LincolnCENTury GAME.
They are very likely to increase in value to stamp collectors in years to come!
Don O’Connor’s LINCOLN CENTury Game Here are some fun ideas that you can put into 1 or more of the KEEPER YEARLY ENVELOPES: There are 3 groups of items (A) Those which have monetary or historical collector value to the KEEPER (B) family memorabilia useful for family genealogy (C) other items or news clippings of interest:
The (A) group below: parts 1 to 7 Items of monetary value…
1. In each envelope put one or more coins that will be 100 years old when opened. For the 2009 envelope, this may be just 1 (1909) coin. By the time you are filling the 2080 envelope, you will have a surplus of 1980 Lincoln cent coins from those you search from rolls of coins and from your daily pocket change. You can be putting many (100 to 300) 1980 Lincoln cents into the 2080 envelope, and each year after that. If each coin is worth $1 then this 2080 envelope may be worth $300 to the KEEPER on Christmas morning, 2080………..
2. Postage stamps from 2009. You and the KEEPER can put more stamps in these envelopes each year to come, and into the LINCOLN CENT GIFT BOX for the family to share, Christmas 2109….
3. Cash? Remember, the KEEPER will be your son or daughter, Grandchild, niece, nephew, brother or sister. The mint is now striking $1 President coins. You could put 1 or more in the 2009 envelope.
4. If you live in NH, put some NH brass turnpike tokens showing the Old Man of the Mountain. These will be collector items some day. The tokens have been recalled, and the Old Man is gone too!
5. Proof set coins: Part of the goal of this game is to inspire you and the KEEPER(S) to see the value of saving … and possibly investing. If you, and the KEEPER buy 2009 Proof Set coins from the U S Treasury, and put one or more Proof Coin Sets into each yearly envelope, the value of this game will be considerable by 2109. Remember, if the KEEPER (in the year 2020 puts a 2020 mint set into the 2050 envelope) it will be the KEEPERS son or daughter... your grandchild... who will get that prize. Whatever value goes into these gift kits, your family wins.
6. OOOPS. Sometimes the mint makes a mistake. The $1 Susan B Anthony coins…the Edsel of coins, for example. There are probably millions of them, unused, in government vaults somewhere. But “clever you” will go to the bank and get a handful of them… well, you won’t exactly “grab” a handful of them… you will hand the teller a $20 bill and politely ask for 20 of them. She will remember you, since you were the only person to ask for Susan Bees since the day they were minted. Someday Uncle Sam may have a giant bonfire and melt down zillions of unused S. B. Anthony Dollars, and the 20 or 30 or 100 you have sprinkled into your envelopes could have collector value. Yes, you can keep your game a modest cost and stick with pennies. If you are 20 years old today and building this kit as a family keepsake, you might be on a penny budget today. But YOU can also be the KEEPER of your kit for the next 40 years. By the time you are 30 years old, you may be in financial position to put $1 coins and Mint Proof sets into the envelopes of years 2019 to 2109 for your children and grandchildren to win. If you are 50 years old today, and doing well financially, you might be putting $50 or $100 of value into every year envelope as antique coins, $1 coins, gold or silver coins, stamps, new $10 bills… you name it… your children and grandchildren will win it! The game is based on the humble one cent coin, but the total value of YOUR GAME can be as mighty as you and future KEEPERS want to make it. If every KEEPER contributes just $25 per year to yearly envelopes or into the “2109 LINCOLN CENT GIFT BOX” the value of your family game just went up $2,500 plus the collector value of all these added antique coins.
The (B) group below: part 7 to 14; family photos and memories
7. Family photos; take a picture of your family now, 2009. Put that photo in the 2009 and 2109 envelopes and the LINCOLN CENT GIFT BOX. Be sure to label the back of your photos with names of family (and pets?) in the picture. 100 years from now, they won’t know who is who. Ask anyone in a Historical Society how important this is!
8. Do the same with other family photos you or family members can find. Graduations, Baptisms, weddings, standing in the yard of your new home, any family event to remember! Family car pictures. Be sure to label the year and people in the photos. Put each picture in the envelope to open at 100 year anniversary. As you know, the KEEPER will open 1 envelope at Christmas each year, and KEEP the coin or coins inside that envelope. The family can enjoy looking at these pictures, and the KEEPER will return the envelope into the “LINCOLN CENT GIFT BOX” to open all 100 envelopes again at Christmas (and family reunion) 2109.
9. Photos of pets, family cars.. maybe one with you in the driver’s seat!
10.Look in your family photo collection, find a photo you can identify the year. Were you married in 1980? Put that photo in the year 2080 envelope. When the KEEPER opens that envelope in 2080, the photo will be 100 years old.
11.Other documents of family interest (photocopies or originals), birth certificates, wedding license, automobile registration and title (these may look very odd in 2109 when gasoline is $65 a gallon and nobody owns cars... except a lot of people in Saudi Arabia…) High school or college diploma, other military or professional certificates. Put a business card from everyone in your family who has one, Aunts, Uncles… everyone! These will be interesting in 100 years!
12.Can you record your voice? On a CD or tape, you or your family can sing or record any message you want. Someone in 2109 will have an antique machine to let your descendants play your CD or tape back!
13. Family recipes… take a picture of the family, Thanksgiving 2009 too.
14. A hand made Christmas card, addressed to the family in 2109, signed by you, the KEEPER and all of your family today. Put in the 2109 envelope, or into the “LINCOLN CENT GIFT BOX”
The (C) group below: parts 15 to 25 other items or news clippings of interest:
15.If you enjoy history, like I do, take photos of your town today; put into 2009 and 2109 envelopes and the “GIFT BOX”. A word about photos; you can take many digital pictures and put them on a CD, but I do not know if that CD will still be good in 100 years. So you may want to take some 35mm pictures on photo paper as well, just in case.
16.Put the phone book page that has your name, and a yellow page with your business ad if your family has one, in 2109 envelope.
17. Newspaper or magazine clippings of major events. You can put 2009 items in the first envelope. The KEEPER(s) can do this every year to come. Classified ads, real estate ads will be very interesting in 2109.
18. Go to your town hall. Ask for a copy of your real estate tax card for your home. This is not the same as your tax bill. This card is kept on file for every home in town. Put a copy of yours into your 2109 envelope and the “LINCOLN CENT GIFT BOX”. This will tell your 2109 relatives exactly where and how you lived. In our family, we do not know these details of our relatives back in 1909… nobody kept family records… here is YOUR CHANCE for your family!
19. Expired driver’s licenses, employee badges, student I.D. badges, military i.d. tags…even expired dog tags from your dog… and the like, for you and other family members today. Gather them all and put into the 2109 envelope or the “LINCOLN CENT GIFT BOX 2109”
20. The inventor of this “LINCOLN CENT GIFT BOX”, Don O’Connor, is a photographer and historian, and a member of the Plymouth NH Historical Society. I have taken about a quarter zillion photos of the Town of Plymouth NH. You can take many photos of your town, especially Main Street, your school, college, place of work, and especially homes and buildings about to be demolished in your town. Put a copy of these photos (label the back with ample description, time and place photo taken, your name as photographer) in your 2009 envelope, other copies in your “LINCOLN CENT GIFT BOX” and donate more copies to your local historical society. They will appreciate your contribution to town history. In Plymouth NH a new bridge has been built. NINE buildings were demolished in 2 towns on both sides of the Pemigewasset River for this one project! I have photos of all of them. And I have a detailed photo record of the demolition of the old bridge and the construction of the new one. You can view these photos at www.donoconnor.com at the page “See The Pemi Bridge.”
21. Photo 2009 town events, parades, high school football games or other athletic or school theater events. I have pictures of local July 4 parades for the past 5 years… there is also a Christmas Parade in Plymouth too! Your kit will be a Town Historical Collection by itself! Thanks to digital photography, where you don’t have to pay many dollars to have pictures developed, you can take hundreds of town photos, and make a CD of all of them to put inside the 2009 and 2109 envelopes, and your 2109 GIFT BOX. Also, print some choice ones on photo paper for your envelopes and your “LINCOLN CENT GIFT BOX 2109”. In Plymouth, NH, there is a very special gazebo bandstand on the Town Common. I have taken pictures of this for several years in all four seasons. To show how YOU CAN DO THIS, see many of these photos at www.donoconnor.com at the pages “Plymouth NH Views” and “Plymouth In Bloom”. Take a look, and I hope you enjoy. You can do the same in your town, starting today!
22.Political advertisements, buttons, memorabilia from the 2008 Presidential campaign, and the election of President Obama.
23. The Plymouth NH Historical Society has a fascinating photo collection, taken in the early 1930’s of every building in town, not done by the government, but by a private individual! Thanks to digital photography, you can do the same in your town (no expensive film to develop!) Maybe this could be your Eagle Scout project (see #23 below) or a great hobby/pastime if you are now retired. Are you a professional photographer? Even better… show the town what you can do! Photography club at high school, trade school or college? There’s your assignment… go to it, and build a Don O’Connor’s LINCOLN CENTury Game featuring your great town photos as a history milestone, and a great coin collection too for you and everybody in the club or class! Burn the photos on CD, put a copy into your 2009 envelope and another into your 2109 “LINCOLN CENT GIFT BOX” and donate another copy to your town Historical Society! You’ll be famous! If you visit Plymouth NH on vacation, come and see the photo collection… the museum is open Summertime on Saturday, located next to the Town Hall. Email me at Donrealtor@roadrunner.com and I will make an appointment to personally show you the collection if time allows. There are a few tips to do a great job taking your whole town photos. Email me and I will share some ideas on this.
24.Speaking of boxes… a Don O’Connor’s LINCOLN CENTury Game will actually weigh a lot. A $1,000 GAME will weigh quite a bit. So here is another part of the game. If you are a woodworker, you can build a beautiful wooden box to store your game, or hold your auction box game. If you are a teenager building your game, you might build your box in your school wood shop. As a home craftsman, you can build your own… a handsome way to pass your legacy down to your 2109 family. Place a nifty brass plate on it… you get the idea. Yes, you can photo your box, and I may put your beautiful box photo on my website for the world to see… with your first name only. Are you a welder or metalworker? Build your box in metal, the added advantage... your box will be fire proof or at least fire resistant. Maybe you can get a local wood or metal working company in your town to build and donate a nice box for your “Fundraiser auction” good publicity for them!. Get a local bank to donate the $25 in new 2009 Lincoln coins for your box… heck, a bank or local business may want to donate a lot more than $25 for your auction… but I don’t suggest you set a value over $1,000 for your auction box because this will limit the number of bidders willing to bid your box up. In fact you may be just as well off to create ten $100 boxes and auction them at your Scout or Church auction in 10 different lots. Many more bidders will be able to bid between $110 to $500 per box. Right? More fun for all, more families to get their own box to keep. If you only put 1 roll of new Lincoln cents in the “LINCOLN CENT GIFT BOX” and a modest collection of coins in each year envelope, it could be possible to make $50 auction boxes to auction for your elementary school PTA group as a fund raiser. Maybe local merchants will donate gift certificates to go into the 2009 envelope. One last word about the box: hardware and office supply stores sell small safes for personal papers. All of them lock, some are waterproof too. Priced from $35 to $100. Maybe a local merchant or locksmith will donate one of these safes to your group, and this will be the container for your Don O’Connor’s LINCOLN CENTury Game to auction off. Hope you have fun with this!
|