Fortune Told?

Monday night we ate at the "Steak and Rice" Chinese restaurant in Kirkwood, corner of Kirkwood Road and Big Bend. STL Rising recommended. It's one of the few places where they serve A-B products with a chilled pilsner glass.

At the end of the meal, the server delivered the customary round of fortune cookies and the bill. My cookie had a somewhat ominous message: "Your luck is about to change". Never paying much mind to fortunes, I didn't think a whole lot of it.

Today, walking outside for some fresh air, I jingled the change in my pocket. One of the coins had a different feel. I pulled it out, and sure enough, it was different. It felt cleaner. It was a silver dime from 1964, the last year they minted silver dimes.

It's been at least ten years since I've found a silver dime in circulation. According to some websites, silver dimes run about 1 per thousand in circulation, but I doubt that number.

Silver dimes have a distinct color and feel. They're not as shiny as the copper/nickel clad issue, and they don't have that greasy feel nickel coins do. Most people quickly recognize them and nab them out of circulation. They're almost impossible to find any more. Mine came out of this morning's change drawer at the 6th and Olive Starbuck's.

At today's prices, the melt value of a silver dime is $.84. From a collector's standpoint, it's worth between $1 and $8, depending on condition. Finding a silver dime in your loose change a change in luck, or, as a commenter puts it, "luck in change"? Either way, I'll take it.