Coin Heaven

As a coin collector, I very much enjoy seeing coins of other countries and other times, especially when I visit those countries (only Kimberly and Stephanie still dream of time travel). So I was thrilled last night after I returned from Pavlovo and Masha and some old tsar- and Soviet-era coins from her mother's collection. The oldest one dates back to 1861, I believe.

All of the coins Masha had were extras from her mother's collection, so I hope to buy some of them as my mementos of the trip here. Masha's mother plans to take them to an antique dealer to get a sense of their value -- neither her nor I know anything about what old Russian coins cost -- and then I will buy as many as I can afford. I want the oldest ones I can afford, but I'd also like to have one from 1985. That's the year I graduated high school, a time when the United States and Soviet Union were still at Cold War.

Also last night, Masha showed us video of her 1997 trip to the United States. Jeff and I got to see and her our wives talk on camera, and Amanda also made an appearance. It was good to see a glimpse of home and family.