Way back in 1979 (before many of you were born), I was a flat-broke college student working my way toward a bachelor’s degree in marketing at an over-priced university in Northern New Jersey.
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Times were tough and millions of people were out of work. Inflation was sapping the life out of the economy. Interest rates were sky-rocketing, which drove up the price of everything, including gas and food.
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To get by, I grabbed whatever part-time work I could find including washing cars and loading trucks for a freight hauler (night shift) in the Jersey Meadowlands.
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Friday nights would find me trying to supplement my income playing low-stakes poker at my cousin Vinny’s house. Yes, I really had a cousin Vinny, RIP.
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I was always looking for an angle, anything to make a few bucks. One day while flipping through the pages of the Daily News, I came across a small article which stated that the price of silver had jumped from $6 an ounce to almost $50 in just a few months.
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A lot of good that does me, I thought. It wasn’t like I had bars of silver packed into the trunk of my ‘68 Pontiac Catalina.
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But then, I remembered something relevant that I had learned in a high school history class. All of the dimes, quarters and half-dollars that were minted in 1964 or before were 90 percent silver. I also knew that there were millions of those coins still in circulation, and with silver approaching $50 an ounce; they would be worth much more than their actual face value.
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I did more research and learned that a quarter minted in 1964 or before was now actually worth up to $10. A silver dime could bring $2.50 and a half-dollar up to $20!
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I reached into my pocket and pulled out a handful of change. Sure enough, I had a 1964 dime and a 1962 quarter. Could it really be true that my 35 cents was actually worth about $12.50? I hastily made my way to the shop of a local coin dealer and dropped the coins on his counter.
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Silver coins make a unique, chime-like sound when they clink together or strike a hard surface. The sound immediately grabbed the shopkeeper’s attention and he quickly scooped them up.
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“A ’62 quarter and a ’64 dime,” he said, rather nonchalantly. “I’ll give you ten bucks for the two.”
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“I think they are worth more” I said politely.
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“Yeah, but I gotta make a buck, too – take it or leave it!” he replied.
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Ten dollars for 35 cents – who was I to argue?
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As soon as he handed me the ten-spot, my wheels started turning. I immediately began scouring desk drawers, under car seats and couch cushions, piggy banks and anywhere and everywhere in search of more silver coins.
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After a couple of hours, I had scrounged up a few more silver dimes and quarters and quickly calculated that I easily had another $100 in my pocket. In 1979, the minimum wage was $2.90 an hour – do the math!
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I was feeling rather proud of myself, when lightning struck again. Tonight’s poker game! Hundreds of coins would be tossed about and surely, there would be silver coins among them. All I had to do was keep my mouth shut and hope that the “Jersey Boys” hadn’t heard the news.
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So, like the proverbial cat with the canary in his mouth, I took my regular seat at the poker table and did my best to control my excitement.
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Vinny dealt the first cards and said, “Anti up! Twenty-five cents apiece and no IOUs!” As the coins were tossed into the pot, I heard that familiar clinking sound. There it was! A 1964 silver quarter, right in the middle of the pot.
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Much to my relief, nobody took notice. “I need to make some change,” I said casually, as I threw a dollar bill into the pot and snagged four quarters – including the prize. Two bets later, I heard that musical note again – and once more, I made “change.”
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I wasn’t even paying attention to my hand. By the time the last card was dealt, I was looking down at a lousy pair of twos. My friend, Nicky G, won the hand with a pair of aces and openly mocked me (which is considered proper poker etiquette) for not folding sooner.
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So, I lost $1.25. But in my pocket, I had two silver quarters worth about twenty bucks. This continued throughout the night. In the end, I lost $15, but I had also garnered a pile of silver coins worth well over $200! That would be about $1,000 in today’s money. It was enough for a new set of white-walls on the Catalina, to replace my eight-track with a new AM-FM cassette player, and still have some cash left over for another round with the boys. Surely, I was on my way …
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Alas, my “silver-mining expedition” lasted just a few months. The news spread, and silver coins quickly became scarce. Then, the entire silver bubble burst and the few coins that you could find were worth only a few bucks.
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Collectively, I made a couple grand during the run. And, I openly admit that I wasted most of it feeding the ponies at the Meadowlands Race Track. But it was one wild ride!
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At the same time, I also gained a valuable lesson from the experience – one that I’ve been able to successfully apply to a variety of circumstances throughout my life. The “information” about the rise in the price of silver was in plain sight for everyone to read. However, having this info alone would not be enough to make you successful. You also needed the “knowledge” regarding the silver content in the coins. And, while possessing this knowledge was valuable, you still had to be wise enough to develop a strategy for using it. And finally, you then had to be courageous and put your plan into action to achieve actual success.
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Information can lead to knowledge. Knowledge can lead to wisdom. And wisdom can lead to success – but only if you have the courage to take action. Such opportunities are available every month in the pages of IST Magazine – as experienced professionals openly share valuable information, insightful knowledge and proven strategies for success. Take the next step!
