Half-Hound
Jr. Member
March 6th, 2011
Los Angeles, California
When I was a kid growing up in Louisville, Kentucky in the mid 1960s, I worked with an old man who had a pick-up truck. We made money hauling junk like Sanford & Son. We also sold scrap metal to the scrap yard. We sold steel, and stainless steel, brass, copper, cast iron and aluminum – which was not as widely used then as it is today. My take was 1/3 of whatever money we made.
The old man would use a magnet to distinguish steel from stainless steel, which is non-ferrous. I didn’t need a magnet, I could tell the difference by just looking. We would build a fire and burn the insulation from copper electrical wire. And while the old man took a lunch break I would clip and remove copper wire windings from old electric motors and sealed refrigerator (we called them ice boxes) units. Today I see people picking up aluminum cans on the streets, yet step right over copper tubing that fell from a plumber’s truck. They just don’t know.
While riding my bicycle on Sunday mornings I pick up any coins and wheel weights that I find. I use the lead to make casts of the footprints of my grandchildren. Yes, I know to be careful about lead vapor fumes and lead poisoning. Incidentally, the very busy streets where I live are littered with coins and wheel weights (just beat the street sweeper). Many of the wheel weights are new. When people buy new tires, they are balanced. But many tires don’t stay balanced for long. An unbalanced tire will cause a rough ride at higher speeds and also premature tire wear.
Anyway, I guess looking for silver coins has been a natural progression for me. I’ve been looking for one kind of metal or another for most of my life!
In the accompanying photograph, can you spot the wheat-back penny & dime? Thanks for reading.
Half-Hound
2011 silver coin totals: 16 90% halves, 62 40% halves and still stuck on 11 silver dimes.
Los Angeles, California
When I was a kid growing up in Louisville, Kentucky in the mid 1960s, I worked with an old man who had a pick-up truck. We made money hauling junk like Sanford & Son. We also sold scrap metal to the scrap yard. We sold steel, and stainless steel, brass, copper, cast iron and aluminum – which was not as widely used then as it is today. My take was 1/3 of whatever money we made.
The old man would use a magnet to distinguish steel from stainless steel, which is non-ferrous. I didn’t need a magnet, I could tell the difference by just looking. We would build a fire and burn the insulation from copper electrical wire. And while the old man took a lunch break I would clip and remove copper wire windings from old electric motors and sealed refrigerator (we called them ice boxes) units. Today I see people picking up aluminum cans on the streets, yet step right over copper tubing that fell from a plumber’s truck. They just don’t know.
While riding my bicycle on Sunday mornings I pick up any coins and wheel weights that I find. I use the lead to make casts of the footprints of my grandchildren. Yes, I know to be careful about lead vapor fumes and lead poisoning. Incidentally, the very busy streets where I live are littered with coins and wheel weights (just beat the street sweeper). Many of the wheel weights are new. When people buy new tires, they are balanced. But many tires don’t stay balanced for long. An unbalanced tire will cause a rough ride at higher speeds and also premature tire wear.
Anyway, I guess looking for silver coins has been a natural progression for me. I’ve been looking for one kind of metal or another for most of my life!
In the accompanying photograph, can you spot the wheat-back penny & dime? Thanks for reading.
Half-Hound
2011 silver coin totals: 16 90% halves, 62 40% halves and still stuck on 11 silver dimes.
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