The E-Sylum:  Volume 9, Number 27, July 2, 2006, Article 38

EXTRA! EXTRA! NEWSBOY COLLECTS COINS!

Dick Johnson writes: "If you started collecting coins from the
proceeds earned from delivering newspapers (like I and so many
other collectors I know) you might enjoy reminiscing by reading
this article about a Long Beach California newsboy."

"He's not your typical little boy. While many others his age are
still in slumber land, he's wide-eyed and working hard to bring
you the latest news. His name is L.J. Darley.

You may have seen him out and about with beads of sweat dripping
from his 12-year-old face, riding his Schwinn Alloy-SS cruiser
he got for Christmas. He gets up early to help spread the hottest
details around his neighborhood."

"Meanwhile, Darley likes the idea of raking in extra dough. He
just spent $19.95 on an 1858 American Flying Eagle penny, his
all-time favorite addition to his coin collection. He said he
puts the remainder of his earnings into a savings account."

To read the complete article, see: Full Story

[Yours truly was another collector whose hobby interest got a
boost from a newspaper route.  I carried The Pittsburgh Press,
an afternoon paper now extinct and rolled onto the morning
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Nowadays the PG employs only adult
carriers who canvass their neighborhood by car.  In Pittsburgh
at least (and many other major cities), the local newsboy has
gone the way of the do-do bird.

I started when I was 11 years old in 1969.  Theoretically you had
to be at least 12, but they needed someone and looked the other
way.  My dad got a shock when the route manager first stopped by
our house.  He was the same route manager my dad delivered for
in the 1930s, when the income was needed to help his widowed Mom
pay the bills. Dad lived his whole life in that house. The Press
guy retired shortly afterwards.

I found silver coins on occasion, and put all of these aside along
with the interesting foreign coins I received.  One I remember was
an 1899 copper Russian kopeck.  Having the opportunity to review
that many different coins each week was a great experience, one
that has launched many a coin collector.  How many E-Sylum readers
got started this way?  Send us your reminiscences!  -Editor]

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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