Some time back, an old, rusted JNF box came to Temple. As is usual, I empty out the coins and mail a check to JNF for the planting of trees in Israel.

But, this was an old box – who knew what would be inside?

Turns out, this is like a time capsule from an earlier era.

A quick scan revealed a coin dated 1920, with the newest being a shiny 1962 penny. There are over a hundred coins, and the dates span a wide range.

There are 88 cents, almost all are wheat ears, with a couple of “silver” pennies. These were the steel coins minted during WWII.

There are 16 nickels, including a couple of Buffalo Nickels, and 8 silver dimes, including two Mercury Dimes.

It should be treated like any other box. I included the $2.24 (the face value of the coins) in the check to JNF, and wondered what to do with the coins.

Why not offer it to someone who would recognize this cache for the treasure that it is?

So, if you would like this satchel of old American coins, with a new JNF box included, submit a donation to Temple Beth Hillel, earmarked, “Coins.” The highest donation (by year end) gets the whole collection.

--Rabbi Glickman