Patience Makes Cents

When I was 16, I was in downtown Los Angeles for some reason. I remember buying something and getting change. I noticed that one of the pennies I was given was a “wheat penny.” Wheat pennies were minted from 1909 to 1959. They are called “wheat pennies” because they have two heads of wheat on the back as opposed to the Lincoln Memorial that was stamped from 1960 until recently. Most people today that get a “wheat penny” hold on to it as it is considered valuable, although with a few exception the majority are still not worth more than a quarter.  I’ve never been much of a collector as I always would rather spend what little money happened to come my way regardless of “wheat” or anything else for that matter. Well it just so happened that I had recently been given a price guide on collectible coins. When I got home, I took the coins from my pocket and started to look them up. None had any value what-so-ever, until I pulled out that “wheat penny.”  I looked at the date and behold it was a 1909. Wow, I thought, jackpot. Sure enough it was valued at over $40. But wait; if it had an “S” below Lincoln the value was almost double! Sure enough, an “S” But wait once again. If it had a V.D.B. on the back it was the rarest of all wheat pennies and worth almost $150 (1977) dollars. Could it be, was I to be so lucky? Of course, I could hardly believe my eyes, I was rich.

The following I found online:

The 1909 S VDB is the rarest Lincoln cent by date and mintmark, with only 484,000 released for circulation. It is indeed one of the most expensive regular-strike (non-error) rarities of modern U.S. coins. It is also one of those coins that has seen virtually nothing but upward trends in values for the last several decades.

The value of a 1909 S VDB cent is around $750-800 in Good, and upwards of $1,800-2,000 in uncirculated grades. There have been some badly worn, even damaged, 1909 S VDB pennies that can be occasionally found on eBay and in coin dealers’ catalogs. Yet, even these unsightly pieces often go for at least a few hundred dollars.

To this day, most amateur coin collectors lack this one coin and often fill their missing set with a replica.


But to continue with my story. Knowing that the better shape the coin was the more value it had. And wanting to sell it immediately to get my grubby hands on that cold hard cash, I called my friend Tom, who had a car and for the price of a hamburger would drive me to a couple of eager resellers I had found who were located in Hollywood. On our way to Hollywood, where my treasures lay, I asked Tom to stop at this little store, I had worked there during the summer and wanted to borrow some jewelry cleaner from my old boss. I didn’t ask him for advice, just told him I need to clean something and I would return it later. My impulsiveness allowed me to drop the coin in the solution without bothering to read the label. After driving for ½ an hour or so, we arrived in Hollywood and parked. I retrieved my coin and to my horror it was now deep green in color. The label said, “Do not leave in for more than 90 seconds” but who has time to read. Well I’m a smart guy, what this coin needs is just a little tarnish. So I preceded to buy myself a pack of cigarettes figuring I could extinguish them on the coin and it would tarnish it bring back that cool copper look. This was not successful as I further ruined this once valuable coin.


Needless to say, the coin dealers were not all that eager to buy this coin from a teenage Mexican boy that stunk like cigarettes. Finally I stopped at a coin shop and the owner was really nice. He told me that this coin was extremely rare and that I should keep it because it was so hard to come by.  I begged him to buy it from me, he was reluctant as he was a dealer and tried real hard to get me to go home and save it for a few years. Finally I got him to give me $10 for it. He told me it was a mistake on my part, I thought, who cares, give me the money. I took the money, thanked him and left. I gave Tom a couple of bucks for gas, then we went and ate some burgers, that along with the cigarettes pretty much ate up the $10 I had just received.

I’ve always been very impulsive. It has gotten me in trouble and has cost me quite a bit of money. Not to mention this is not a good trait and is one of the many bad traits I need to work on. God tells us in 1Thes 5:14 to be patient. This is difficult, particularly when we feel we have been violated, as when someone wrongs us, when someone cuts us off, when we are accused for something we did not do, etc. Our natural response is to get even, to right the wrong, to take vengeance of sorts.

Being impulsive stems from a lack of patience and self-control. Two things that God tells us we should demonstrate and listed among the fruits of the Spirit.

 ²² But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful self. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. Gal 5:22-24

The fruit of the spirit is an indicator of God’s work in our lives and is also evidence of those who belong to Christ.


Webster’s defines the word patient as:

1. bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint

 ² My brothers and sisters, you will have many kinds of trouble. But this gives you a reason to be very happy. ³ You know that when your faith is tested, you learn to be patient in suffering. ⁴ If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be. James 1:2-4

2. manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain

3. not hasty or impetuous

The apostle Peter was impetuous and impatient, he was always the first to speak up, yet often said the wrong thing. As a matter of fact he was originally named Simon until Jesus changed his name to Peter. Yet every time Peter did something wrong or dumb, Jesus would again use his old name, because he was acting like his old self.

The apostles John and his brother James where hasty to the point of being scolded by Jesus naming them “sons of thunder” for being “hot-headed” and literally wanting to take immediate vengeance when they were “threatened.”  At one point wanting to call fire from heaven to consume those who they believed wronged them. Luke 9:54-55

It defines self-control as:


restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires.

 ¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. James 1:19-20

In the original Greek, it comes from the same root word use to describe Olympic athletes who in preparing themselves for the games abstained from unwholesome food, wine and sexual indulgence.


So it seems I’m in good company, never the less, just as Christ rebuked  Peter (who seemed to constantly stick his foot in his mouth) and just as He scolded John and his brother James for their lack of self-control (And some of you thought that the apostles walked around with halos all their lives, lol). They were a lot like us – sinful men who struggled with all sorts of problems, until through the power of Gods spirit they were transformed and did wonders for God’s kingdom.


As silly and funny as the coin situation was as I look back on it, it often reminds me of what could have been had I just took the time to think things out. (BTW, this was just a “safe” story to tell, as I am too embarrassed to share the dumber ones) As I got older, I continued to avoid keeping my impulsiveness in check, much to the demise of my wallet and sometimes my physical & spiritual well-being. I still tend to struggle with this infirmity, but like most “illnesses” (and I use this term very loosely) if we take the right “prescription” there is a cure. That “prescription” is God’s word, and like any medication, when left on a shelf, it does no good. Likewise neither does it help much if you only take it once a week. It is said that an old worn bible is the best indicator of a strong spiritual life, I believe this.  Peter, John and James all went on to preach God word, leading to salvation for multitudes of lost souls, but not until they spent years by Jesus side. I expect to meet them one day and I expect them to be a lot like me - just a bunch of sinners saved by grace. But first, just like them, I need to spend time by Jesus side, taking care of this impulsive and impatient life of mine.