Passionate

I opened a can of string beans. I was surprised to find it filled with gold coins. I took one out. It was shiny like it had been newly minted. But the date on the coin was 1863.

I took out the rest of the coins. They were also from 1863. There were ten coins total. I felt pretty good. I mean, I like string beans. But I really like gold coins.

I took the coins down to a local jeweler to have them appraised. He took a look. He gasped and started crying. He said they were extremely rare. He said that in 1863, the Philadelphia Mint, which was where these coins were made, experienced a great and bizarre complication during the minting process. Most of the people who usually worked for the mint were temporarily working for the ammunitions plant making bullets and cannon balls for the Civil War. The mint was being run by novices. These newbies poured the liquid gold into the coin mold. There were ten coins to a mold. But when the mold was opened, the coins were missing. Detectives were brought in, the place and employees were searched, but the coins were never found.

I thought how amazing it is that a person can like their job so much it makes them cry.