DIMES to DAD
For many years, people have seen my Penny Collection and asked if I offered dimes too. Each time I would ask them why dimes were important to them, and the response would often go something like this: ”My MOM/DAD/SISTER passed away. Since they’ve been gone, I find dimes in the craziest places. I swear it’s how they are connecting with me. It feels so good to find them because it seems like they are watching over me.”
And so, I’ve had plans to bring dimes into my Collection for some time. I’ve designed pieces, had them photographed and started collecting dimes by year. But for some reason, I held off. Perhaps I was looking for a sign.
And then it got personal a few weeks ago.
My Dad passed away after struggling with Lewy Body Dementia (which btw, is a terrible disease). And after struggling for years, with troubled times especially in the last 4 months, he passed away peacefully. Despite COVID, I was lucky enough to hold his hand as he took his last breath.
Since then, all the emotions have flowed; sadness that he’s gone and guilt that perhaps I could have done more, especially near the end. When I started to write his eulogy, all the memories, lessons learned, tears and love just poured out.
I suppose regardless how you lose someone close to you, there’s a natural curiosity for where they are now. Are they happy? Can they see and hear me? Gosh, wouldn’t it be nice to get a sign from them to know they are ok.
A few days after my Dad passed, I pulled out my Mum’s dryer that had stopped working weeks before. I got down on my knees to clean the dust that had accumulated under the dryer. Amidst an old sock and a pile of dust I found a DIME. There it was. There he was.
To me the dime is a connection to my Dad; I feel like he’s telling me that everything is ok. He’s watching over me (probably making sure we connected the new dryer properly) and he’s smiling. I can feel it.
I cherish that dime. I cleaned it off, slipped it into my pocket and a few days later encased it in sterling silver. It became the inspiration for my new Family Connection Dime Necklace. I was already wearing my daughter’s names and my initial alongside my husband’s initial. But I added that special dime (that connection to him) and a small Bud pendant with a heart hand stamped into it. A wise friend told me “if there is one thing I know for sure about loss, is that time doesn’t heal, only love does”. I think she’s right.
So that sign that I was looking for to introduce dimes; well I discovered it for myself.
If you’re like me, the dime(s) you find is really special. I feel like my Dad is closer when I wear the dime he presented to me. So, it makes sense that you wear YOUR dime, it’s your connection to your special person. Send it to CITRUS and we'll wrap it in sterling silver, just like I did with my own, so that you can wear it with an even greater sense of connection to your special person.
And if sending me your dime isn’t as important as having a dime in a milestone year, we can provide one to you. At CITRUS, we have collected them for most years from 1968 through 2018; uncirculated 2020 dimes are available too.
Visit our COIN COLLECTION to explore all of our designs with Canadian pennies and dimes. And just like I’m watching for more dimes to appear, so too will more dime designs appear within our collection. You just have to be watching for them!
Please share comments below about the dimes you find or the signs that connect you to someone you've lost.
Comments on this post (12)
I found one with the year of my deceased sons year of birth 😢
— Pamela lyman
I found a dime with my deceased sons birth year . What does that mean
— Pam lyman
I found a dime with my deceased sons birth year . What does that mean
— Pam lyman
I found a dime with my deceased sons birth year . What does that mean
— Pam lyman
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Karen that is a lovely share. Thinking of you. My mom is trying to manage Parkinsons. It’s so so hard. I feel so bad for her and always feel like I should be doing more. I’m so happy you found that dime. ❤️
— Lisa Sabino
Hi There
I wondered the cost to have a dime wrapped in sterling silver Should I send you a special dime?
Thankyou
Jennifer
— Jennifer Chisholm
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I couldn’t send you my dime. I’ve got so many. I’ve been finding them since 2014. I’ve got a whole piggyback full of them, and I feature them all on my Instagram (as of 2016 or thereabouts). ❤️
— Davida
Yep. I am a believer. I find dimes too… and was one of your (insistent sorry) askers!
I’m so sad to hear you’ve lost your dad (especially to a terrible disease). I am grateful that you were able to be with him and hold his hand as he travelled to his next adventure. I’ll never forget that with my own dad.
I am sending you the biggest of hugs! I have always said that I was lucky to ‘get my dad’ … he could have been anyone’s dad… but he was mine (and my 2 sisters and brother) and he continues to live in all of us and in his grandchildren (7 of 8 of them came after he passed but they all know Poppa Pete)!
XOXOXO
— Lisa
My dime story was triggered by a grocery clerk. I found a dime on the ground when I was checking out and tried to give it to her to pay for the next customer’s bags. She said, ‘no no no, that is a sign from someone you have lost, look it up and you will see what I mean’. I had lost my Dad a few months before and once I learned what she meant it brought tears to my eyes. I may still have that dime and will be calling you when I find it. What a beautiful idea.
— Daphne
This happens to me as well and I experience a twinge of pain along with the love, every single time. My dad will be gone five years in January. He was my number one fan and I miss him terribly. I’ve been under a lot of stress the last few months with my 44-year old husband’s stage IV cancer diagnosis. When I am super stressed, and find myself driving in my car, the passenger side seatbelt light will start to go off. It will beep for a bit and then stop. I think it’s his way of letting me know he’s with me and to “slow down”.
I love your new family collection and hope to get one someday.
I hope you take comfort in all the great memories of you and your dad. It really is those moments in time that get you through.
Monique
— Monique Cashin