Grandpa’s Coin Purse

My mother gifted my grandfather’s coin purse to me years ago. I was rearranging things after Hurricane Harvey, and found the coin purse that had by now been packed away way too long. It was then I decided I could mount it in a shadowbox and see it more than just occasionally. Plus, I could add a little note on the back of the box explaining where this worn leather coin purse had came from.

Once I went to the local craft store to purchase the shadowbox, I began working on getting the purse attached in a way that wouldn’t destroy it. This idea took a bit of finagling, but ultimately I came up with a nice solution. Mind you, I had the purse for years by this time. So, once I began working with the purse, I opened it up (again) to see if indeed this was the place my grandfather had stored his millions of $$$. You’d thought I had checked that before, right? I’m sure I had, but one never knows.

What I found inside was a small black rock. It was worn smooth and was just the right size and texture you’d expect a worry stone would look and feel like. I decided this stone needed to stay in grandpa’s purse, so I proceeded with my mission, and mounted the purse in the shadowbox.

Soon after, I had the shadowbox hanging on the wall in our spare bedroom. Mom had come to stay for the night, so I asked her, “What’s with the the rock in Grandpa’s coin purse, Mom?” She told the story like this….

“Daddy always carried a rock in his coin purse. That way it felt like it was full, and he never felt broke.”

Well, this little coin purse above is one I had given Mom to keep her coins in while living in her care facility. I found eleven cents in it, when we cleaned her room after her passing.

And, a rock.