The Dirty Old Coin

The story is told of an unemployed young graduate who woke up one morning under a bridge and checked his pocket. All he had left was a few dollar bills adding up to less than ten bucks. He was frustrated as he could find no work and no one was there to help him. He said a prayer dedicating his last remaining money to the Lord and decided to use it to buy food, then wait on the Lord for an answer to his situation.

He bought food and as he sat down to eat, an old man and two children came along --- the older of the two was a boy probably 12 years old and the other a little girl who looked as beautiful as an angel. The old man asked him to help them with food as they had not eaten for almost a week.

The young graduate looked at the children --- they were so lean that he could see their bones coming through their skin and their eyes were receding. With the last bit of compassion he had he gave them all the food. The old man and children prayed that God would bless and prosper the young graduate and then gave him a dirty old coin. The young graduate said, "You need this coin more than I do --- just keep it." The old man insisted that the young graduate put it in his pocket --- and finally he did.

The Old man and children sat down to eat and with no money, no job and no food, the young graduate went back under the bridge to lay down. As he was about to fall asleep he saw an old newspaper on the ground. He picked it up and saw an advertisement inviting people with old coins to come to a particular store. He decided to go there with the dirty old coin the man gave him.

On arriving at the store, he gave the proprietor the dirty old coin. The proprietor screamed loudly and brought out a big book and showed the young graduate a photograph. This same old coin was worth $67,000 dollars. It was part of a Spanish treasure ship that had never been found. The young graduate was overjoyed as the proprietor gave him a certified check for the full amount. He immediately cashed it at the bank and went in search of the old man and little children to thank them.

By the time he got to where he left them eating, they had gone. He asked around about the three people and found a lady who said, "The old man said a young man looking like you would ask about them --- and when you do I'm supposed to give you this note." She handed the young graduate the note which he quickly opened. He was hopeful it would be an address of where they were headed.

But it was not an address and this is what the note said: "You gave us your all and we have rewarded you back with the coin," signed God the Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost.

--- Author Unknown