I had another topic in mind for today...but then this happened... I found my first "W" quarter yesterday!!! It was in a Loomis roll of highly circulated quarters so I'm even extra stoked about the amazing condition it's in!

So why was that such a big emotional deal for me?! Thanks for asking! :-) Let me tell you...

I grew up hearing truly incredible stories from my Grandpa who even experienced actual hand to hand combat...he ended up missing in action twice during WWII and got two Purple Hearts for it. The explosions which wounded him knocked him out, tore off most of his clothes, including his dog tags and they didn't know who he was until he came to a couple days later...both times!
He was in D-Day, he was also a German translator among a whole lot of other action. He did this for us all and never regretted a moment of it.

I was genuinely thinking about him yesterday morning after speaking with my Dad. Grandpa Jerry was His Dad and one of my true heroes in life!!!

I have never had a genuine emotional moment during a coin roll hunt...but my eyes were instantly...leaking. It caught me off guard actually. That connection to history we all talk about so often when it comes to coins. But this time it was way more than that. It was a connection to me, directly! And it hit me hard, in a beautiful way. I'll never sell this coin. I will get it graded. My son here in the states or my brother's family will end up with it in Tokyo. As a side note, my brother fell in love with Japan decades ago after Grandpa and Grandma also fell in love with it after the war long before we were born. My little brother has now lived in Japan his whole adult life. He married a wonderful Japanese woman and they have 4 kids. For all intents and purposes my brother is now Japanese, he even sometimes forgets English words lol!

Most of us here already know that the West Point Mint  created purposely rarer "W" Mint mark National Parks Quarters for 2020, the "W" National Parks Quarters include special "V75" Privy Marks inside an outline of the rainbow pool of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC which memorializes the 75th anniversary of the allied victory in WWII.

In 2020 The West Point Mint only created 2 million of these special coins for each of 5 National Park Quarters, only 10 million total. https://www.govmint.com/coin-authority/post/united-states-mint-producing-2020-w-national-parks-quarters-with-V75-privy-marks

In 2019 The West Point Mint created "W" mint marked quarters for the first time in U.S. history (without Privy Marks). Sometimes the mint director and team really does come up with wonderful ideas to re-excite coin collectors (and even non coin collectors). This initiative was to create new excitement about coin collecting by introducing rare coins into circulation, allowing anyone the opportunity to collect these quarters from their pocket change.  https://www.usmint.gov/news/inside-the-mint/mint-releases-first-ever-w-quarters-into-circulation

I will never forget my Grandpa's physical and even mental wounds...he and millions of others experienced that, for us to have better lives. It all comes full circle for me...having myself just survived Covid19 and having some 'wounds' from it...here in America we have now lost more relatives, friends, and neighbors in just one year than we lost in all 4 years of heavy fighting during WW2. Let's not let any of their sacrifices or memories be for nothing either!

Like past wars, this has been one too...we are learning, we are changing, we are genuinely understanding why we can care for each other even when opinions differ. Grandpa and Grandma absolutely fell in love with the people, cultures, and countries where Grandpa had to go to kill people from those places... Love wins. It really does.

Stay positive! Much Love to all! Enjoy the hunt...for coins :-)