Friends,
In early August while doing volunteer cleanup around the former Pillsbury property a team member found a curious coin. A large copper coin that took a bit of cleaning to reveal the type and date. It turned out to be an 1851 large cent. United States large cent coins were minted from 1793 to 1857. They are nearly pure copper and just about the size of a modern half dollar coin.
The large cent was found in the south employee parking area near the corner of 15th St. and Matheny Ave. The old parking area had been overgrown with weeds for many years until this year. We made an effort this Spring and Summer to kill off the weeds and allow the rain to wash off the thin layer of soil built up over the old asphalt. The project has worked out well. The frequent rains this year did a great job of revealing both the asphalt and the curious coin!
Our coin was clearly buried in the thin soil for a long time. It is in poor condition and required a good cleaning just to read the date. It likely has a collector’s value of less than ten dollars.
How did the coin get there? That is the curious question. The neighborhood has a long history. The early school location where Lincoln sent one of his sons in the 1850’s is just across the street from where the coin was found. The former Concordia Seminary complex of buildings is at that location now. The original school building was built in 1852 and demolished in 1931. We can only imagine….
Thanks for being a part of this important community project!
~ Team Pillsbury
