"Miracle penny" to go up for auction

[MiddenMonster]

This is a heart warming article. But if I was in this family I wouldn't want the penny to be auctioned. The pictures are amazing:

Miracle penny that saved WWI soldier's life to go up for auction: 'Never seen anything like this before'

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Treasure of Victoria Peak - Grab it through Amazon!

[Nick79]

Shame on them for selling it. That should be passed down and kept in the family. They are not even getting that much for it. Like a 3 to 4 weeks of gas in your tank?

 

[huntsman53]

Shame on them for selling it. That should be passed down and kept in the family. They are not even getting that much for it. Like a 3 to 4 weeks of gas in your tank?

I agree! The coin is a legacy and history of their' family to be treasured for all time.

 

[villagenut]

Should have way more monetary value than just a few hundred bucks......only desperation would cause you to trade family history for a weeks worth of groceries that will just end up in the sewer

 

[Dozer D]

"Miracle penny" to go up for auction

It's totally worthless as a numismatic coin since its bent etc., but priceless as a family memory. Love the story.

 

[DiamondDan]

Sorry, but these people are scum for selling that. It's positively disgraceful to sell something with such an important role in your family history. I have many things from my family worth many thousands of dollars and never in a million years would I consider selling them. (And at times I have been BROKE!)

 

[PetesPockets55]

I agree with everyone but what if there is no family member to leave it to?

 

[MiddenMonster]

I agree with everyone but what if there is no family member to leave it to?

I also agree with everyone that this penny should not be sold. If there is no family member to keep it, that would change the equation to some extent. But even then, I think it should go to a WWI/military museum rather than into someone's private collection. In the world of "Soldier's Tales", this is near the top of the list. But...if there are actual descendants, they really need to hang on to it because if it wasn't for that penny, they literally wouldn't be here. No matter how low they sink. No matter how worthless they are, their lives will always be worth one British cent. How many people in this world can actually trace their very existence to a single object, especially one that small?

 

[1637]

i didnt think of that.good point.
brad

 

[Holt0222]

Well the auctioneer was far off on the estimation.

 

[Nick79]

View attachment 1691691 Well the auctioneer was far off on the estimation.

That says war medals

 

[Holt0222]

Correct it is the coin plus his medals.

 

[Nick79]

Correct it is the coin plus his medals.

Ahh I missed that part in the read I guess. I thought they were only selling the penny

 

[MiddenMonster]

Ahh I missed that part in the read I guess. I thought they were only selling the penny

It kind of makes it worse that they are selling the medals in addition to the penny. He earned those medals through true sacrifice. Here are some quotes from the article:

"'Everyone in our family saw the penny and heard the story of how it saved my grandfather’s life,' Coulson (Trickett's granddaughter) said in comments obtained by SWNS. 'He had to come home because of the injury. It damaged his left-hand side and left him deaf in his left ear. It also affected his balance.'

The penny was made in 1889 and was passed on from generation to generation in Trickett's family."

So there are obviously direct descendants of Private Trickett who are, for some reason willing to part with the coin in addition to his medals. If this was my family, both medals and the penny would be framed in a shadow box, with the penny between the two medals, and proudly hanging on the wall where we would see it every day. This article gets sadder every time I read it.

"Along with his British War Medal and Victory Medal, the life-saving cent will be sold on March 22 at Derbyshire’s Hansons Auctioneers. It has a pre-sale estimate of 100 to 200 British pounds ($133-$266)."

And the caption under the picture:

"Private Trickett kept a penny made in 1889 in the breast pocket of his soldier’s uniform, a poignant reminder of home. It proved to be his lucky penny as, during the dreadful conflict which claimed 10 million soldiers’ lives, including those of his two brothers, the coin took the full impact of a German bullet, brutally bending under the force but ultimately deflecting the danger. (Credit: SWNS)"

His granddaughter says that Trickett was probably underage when he enlisted, following the death of his two brothers. The penny was minted in 1889. That means that this penny probably predated his birth by at least a decade.

There is also this quote from the article:

"Militaria expert Adrian Stevenson, who found the coin, said: 'It looks to me like a pistol bullet hit the penny at close range. I’ve come across many stories of random objects saving soldiers’ lives but I’ve never seen anything like this before.'"

The above quote has me wondering how a militaria expert "found" this coin. This whole story just boggles my mind. It makes me want to slap these descendants upside the head and knock some sense into them...but that would be wrong.

 

[Nick79]

It kind of makes it worse that they are selling the medals in addition to the penny. He earned those medals through true sacrifice. Here are some quotes from the article:



So there are obviously direct descendants of Private Trickett who are, for some reason willing to part with the coin in addition to his medals. If this was my family, both medals and the penny would be framed in a shadow box, with the penny between the two medals, and proudly hanging on the wall where we would see it every day. This article gets sadder every time I read it.



And the caption under the picture:



His granddaughter says that Trickett was probably underage when he enlisted, following the death of his two brothers. The penny was minted in 1889. That means that this penny probably predated his birth by at least a decade.

There is also this quote from the article:



The above quote has me wondering how a militaria expert "found" this coin. This whole story just boggles my mind. It makes me want to slap these descendants upside the head and knock some sense into them...but that would be wrong.

Yes I agree, but one thing I have learned many times through personal experience with news reporters is that they often make mistakes on what they are reporting due to bad notes they took, or misunderstanding. I've been interviewed a few times by the local news and every time they get at least one major thing wrong. Also my sister in law was in a horrible accident and they reported she was a drunk driver driving a brand new vehicle. She actually was under the legal limit and was driving a vehicle about 20 years old! They wanted to make her look bad because, sadly, the other person died who was involved in the accident. He was a firefighter on a motorcycle who was speeding going around a corner and she pulled out in front of him. I'm getting off topic but my point is don't take news word for word, they more often than not have it wrong by accident or to make the story better.

 

[PetesPockets55]

Donating to a museum would have been a great way for the family to honor their forefather and it would be inspiring and enthusiastically appreciated by any military member.

Thanks for posting and sharing your thoughts. Gives a better perspective on other thoughts for honoring the survivor.

 

[ILikeMoney]

Had if not been for that penny, there may have been no offspring. Therefore, the granddaughter should keep it for without it, she may have never been born.

 

[Dozer D]

I have NO token memories of my 4-grandfathers, only a picture here & there of them holding me when I was only 3-months old. But I never knew them. But I have now 13-grandkids of my own and am hoping to leave them with some token memory (even if it's only coins) of me in their future lives. I vote that the granddaughter KEEP the penny as a fond memory of her grandfather DURING A BATTLE IN WWI, that saved his life.

 

[MiddenMonster]

I have NO token memories of my 4-grandfathers, only a picture here & there of them holding me when I was only 3-months old. But I never knew them. But I have now 13-grandkids of my own and am hoping to leave them with some token memory (even if it's only coins) of me in their future lives. I vote that the granddaughter KEEP the penny as a fond memory of her grandfather DURING A BATTLE IN WWI, that saved his life.

And what adds more to an already incredible story is that this wasn't some stray "All Quiet On the Western Front" shot that traveled across several hundred yards of field and just happened to hit this penny. It appears that the bullet came from a pistol at close range. That means that the German soldier probably hit where he was aiming, and Private John Trickett was looking right at the German soldier--maybe even into his eyes, when he was shot. What we don't know at this point, is what happened to the German soldier immediately afterwords. Did one of Tricket's buddies drop him? Did he survive and live a full life after the war, never knowing the story of the miracle penny? Did he go on to become an infamous Nazi villain a couple of decades later? The complete story of what happened here could easily be book and movie material.

 

[huntsman53]

And what adds more to an already incredible story is that this wasn't some stray "All Quiet On the Western Front" shot that traveled across several hundred yards of field and just happened to hit this penny. It appears that the bullet came from a pistol at close range. That means that the German soldier probably hit where he was aiming, and Private John Trickett was looking right at the German soldier--maybe even into his eyes, when he was shot. What we don't know at this point, is what happened to the German soldier immediately afterwords. Did one of Tricket's buddies drop him? Did he survive and live a full life after the war, never knowing the story of the miracle penny? Did he go on to become an infamous Nazi villain a couple of decades later? The complete story of what happened here could easily be book and movie material.

Yeah it would have been a really big deal if the German soldier that shot Private John Trickett survived the war, was tracked down and his spin on what happened that fateful day was added to the history and record of the event. It would have made the event all the more real to the family and anyone who read or reads the story and as the clip below says....