The Happy Hollisters and the Secret of the Lucky Coins
owned it was trying to coax the bird back into its cage when Sue came along The parakeet was sitting on a hedge Sue declared and I caught it in my hands Yikes That was keen Ricky said proudly But what's that got to do with your secret Sue explained that she had carried the parakeet into the lady's house and placed it in its cage Then I got a reward That's the secret Oh I know what it is Ricky said You're holding a nickel behind your back Sue giggled and replied No it's littler than that A penny Holly said When Sue had nodded vigorously Ricky nibbled at the edge of his disappearing cone and said What's so secret about a penny It's a lucky penny Sue replied But I'm not going to show it to you I'll give you two licks of my ice cream cone if you will Holly offered Sue accepted and took one lick Then she held out her fist and opened it In the palm of her hand was a copper coin much larger than the pennies the children were used to seeing Around the edge were thirteen stars In the center was a Liberty head and beneath it the date 1817 Ricky looked at the coin solemnly as if he knew all about 1817 pennies What's lucky about that big jumbo he asked popping the last bit of cone into his mouth
Daddy will know Sue retorted and bent forward to take another lick from Holly's ice cream Ow Holly complained You're taking a bite not a lick She pulled the cone back but the ice cream tilted out and dropped to the sidewalk Plop Oh Sue exclaimed I'm sorry Here take my penny No thanks Holly said I think your penny's unlucky Just then a beautiful collie dog ran out of the Hollisters driveway halfway down the block Here Zip Holly called The girl pointed to the spilled ice cream and the collie lapped it up eagerly I'm glad it wasn't wasted Holly declared as the three children with Zip bounding at their heels ran onto their front lawn The Hollisters home located in the town of Shoreham was a large rambling house The big lawn in front extended around both sides and the rear of the property bordered beautiful Pine Lake where a rowboat rocked at its mooring off the dock Halfway between there and the back of the house was a circular flower bed Kneeling beside it were Mrs Hollister and her two other children Pete and Pam They were helping their mother transplant marigolds to edge the garden Mrs Hollister a pretty slender woman with light hair stood up and pulled off her garden gloves Thanks for helping me Pete and Pam she said smiling
It was fun Pete replied He was twelve years old and had blond crew cut hair and a happy smile His sister Pam ten wore her golden hair in a fluffy bob She gave the freshly turned earth a few extra pats then stood up as Ricky Holly and Sue raced into the back yard When the story of the lucky penny was told Mrs Hollister said Your daddy will probably know why it's lucky Here he comes now The children turned to see a station wagon pull into the driveway When it stopped Mr Hollister stepped out He was a tall handsome athletic looking man who walked toward them with an easy stride Mr Hollister owned The Trading Post a combination toy hardware and sporting goods shop in the center of Shoreham When Sue raced over to her father he picked her up and somersaulted her onto his shoulders Then with giggles and laughs the children trooped into the house and hastily washed their hands and faces before sitting down to lunch Mr Hollister was interested in the old coin and ex amined it carefully Why is it lucky Daddy Sue asked Because it's probably worth more than a penny Mr Hollister replied He explained that many old coins were scarce and therefore collectors were willing to pay more for them than their original value Well we can find out about this one easily enough John Mrs Hollister said There's a coin shop not far from The Trading Post 10
That's right her husband replied Mr Steinberg is a numismatist Fine chap too A what Holly asked as she twisted one of her pigtails A numismatist Mr Hollister replied That's a man who collects coins When lunch was over Pete stood up eagerly Come on let's go to the coin store now he said All five children climbed into the station wagon and Mr Hollister let them off in front of the coin shop It was a tiny store squeezed between two other larger shops A man seated behind the counter greeted them cheerfully Mr Steinberg Pete began we're Mr Hollister's children and we would like to ask a favor of you Hmm a couple of you resemble your dad the man replied smiling What can I do for you Sue stepped up and handed him the old coin This is a lucky penny the little girl announced Daddy thinks it's lucky because maybe it's worth more than a penny The man took the coin looked at it on both sides and said This is in good condition It's worth two dollars See Sue cried looking up at Ricky and Holly it is a lucky coin just like the parakeet lady said Crickets Pete declared If old coins are worth that much money perhaps it would be a good idea to start collecting them It's a fine hobby Mr Steinberg said Why don't you begin by finding Lincoln pennies It's lots of fun
