Coin toss

Songbird posted the RevGalBlogPals Friday Five this week. And she's a great early bird so thankfully I can complete it before I go to bed - thanks! Lectionary based, this is what she says:

Well, Gals and Pals, this weekend we'll be rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and that has me thinking about coinage.

1) When was the last time you flipped a coin or even saw one flipped in person?
It must be a while ago! I can't remember.
2) Do you have any foreign coins in your house? If so, where are they from?
We have a 'funny money' jar where we stash the coinage we bring back from other places. Of course now living in Aussie our familiar NZ currency is in the jar, along with coins from several Pacific nations, Italy, UK and even some US pennies and dimes. My sister has been much more creative with her jar. It formed an endless stream of rainy day activities when her children were small. They could find all the coins with a 20, or a 5 or whatever on them. Or sort them into the country they came from. Or sort them by size or colour. Or year. Then look up information about the countries, write stories, make rubbings of the coins. Mine just sit in the jar.

3) A penny saved is a penny earned, they say. But let's get serious. Is there a special place in heaven for pennies, or do you think they'll find a special place in, well, the other place?
I'm not sure about heaven but these coins have a special place in my memory, and in our faith tradition. The countries I have lived in abandoned the 1c piece long ago (NZ has also abandoned the 5c piece). But the memory lives on. I would have a penny for the Sunday School offering. And heartily sang 'Hear the pennies dropping, listen while they fall, every one for Jesus, He shall have them all' or sometimes my favourite 'Give said the little stream...as it hurried down the hill'. For the rest of the week, with a penny you could buy 6 aniseed balls, 4 of most other lollies, but only one gobstopper. My grandmother has a brooch made out of the tui on the penny. Not quite as elaborate as this one but still a classic cut coin piece. And pennies certainly feature in the traditional Christian stories - one can buy two sparrows, and a widow was commended for giving two of them - all that she had.

4) How much did you get from the tooth fairy when you were a child? and if you have children of your own, do they get coins, or paper money? (I hear there may be some inflation.)
I think we got threepence or sixpence. My children got 50c for the first ones - then started to become aware of market value which was a $1 coin for 'small' ones and $2 coin for molars.

5) Did anyone in your household collect the state quarters? And did anyone in your household manage to sustain the interest required to stick with it?
Suspect this is a geocentric question. Just looked up what it is all about. I would not have the patience to collect 50 quarters over 10 years! Even as a J.