Editor’s Note: For nearly 70 years, the feature-rich pages of Coins magazine tracked the history, fun and the growth of this great hobby, while also attracting new collectors to pursue what was once deemed the “hobby of kings.” Dusting off these time-aged issues, from the early 1960s and beyond, each installment of “Past Times with Coins,” written by its former longtime editor, explores what nuggets of interest they contain.
The July 1964 issue of Coins magazine featured two stories on finds. One involved a circa 1923 Alaska token with a native gold nugget affixed to it and the other story was of a Franciscan novice from Canada who came across a Spanish 2-reales coin at a mission in San Miguel, Calif.
“A twelve year old Waltham, Massachusetts youth made one of the most unusual numismatic finds
