Young Numismatist

Foreign countries do not seem as obscure as they used to be but back in 1955, 9 year old Barbara Payne would have begged to differ. Although she couldn’t pronounce the word, Barbara was already an established Numismatist. Barbara’s coin collecting endeavors began when her school held a contest to see who could accumulate the most foreign coins. After watching a film about the explorations of sailors to foreign countries, Barbara had an idea. She mailed her $1 monthly allowance and a letter to the Seaman’s Church Institute of New York, asking seamen for any 5 cent or 10 cent foreign coins. Barbara’s letter was posted on the institute’s bulletin board and soon merchant sailors were digging into their pockets and coming up with scores of coins, including a Mexican coin from 1851. Barbara’s biggest haul came from a West Indian sailor who had just gotten back from an around the world trip, his pockets jingling with coins from various countries. None of the seaman would accept Barbara’s money.