Buffalo Nickel Key Chain

Coins always remind me of my Father.  He loves to collect them and even has a few ancient coins found in a Spanish construction site that date back several hundred years.  The tooth fairy loved to leave me interesting Spanish currency for my Dad to tell me about and I knew about wooden nickels long before my first history class.  At our apartment in Spain, my Dad had a very special blue lock box for valuable things.

Every time he took something out of the safe, he would also bring out a chocolate gold coin for me.  As far as I was concerned, the chocolate coins were just as important as the passports and money locked inside.

While transporting furniture during the big move last month, I spied the little box sitting on a stack of boxes.  It was rusty and forgotten, the keys lost years ago.  I took it to my Dad, and he said I was welcome to keep it.  We sat at a picnic table chatting and enjoying the sun as I attempted to pick the lock with a bobby pin.  And, guess what?  After maybe thirty minutes of picking, I actually got it to open; I have witnesses.  If I had only known this was possible as a child, I would have eaten enough chocolate coins to fall into a sugar coma!  The contents were a little disappointing: just a few old keys and a handful of Buffalo nickels.

He told me that I was welcome to have the nickels as long as I didn't do anything damaging to them (What? Me? Damage things? Come on).  For his birthday, I used one of the coins to make a key chain- in a non damaging way.  I pulled the red plastic out of these game pieces and wrapped the remaining rings with embroidery thread.  I held them together, glued more thread between them with a small metal ring, and viola!

With interesting feathers, I now have a gorgeous unharmed buffalo nickel key chain!  I will be boxing it up with some chocolate coins and sending it home.

Happy birthday, Dad!

This is my very favorite photo of the two of us: walking down the isle on my wedding day.