When I first met my husband one of the many interesting items in his bachelor pad was a large carboy half full of change. I was never very good at guessing “how many” were in a jar- but there was definitely over $500 in there. It weighed so much that when we got married if I wanted to move it I’d sit on my butt and push it around with my feet on the cold glass.

We always said it was our vacation fund, to go to Disney world or ride in a hot air balloon. But the idea of dumping out all those coins in exchange for a few numbers in our electronic bank broke my heart. Whatever the amount in the jar, it wasn’t worth enough for me to cash it in. No amount was going to be able to pay for the beauty of those silver, gold and rusty copper coins all thrown together behind murky glass.