Ready To Earn His Keep
He stepped out as he did every day, ready to earn his keep. After securing the plow to his tractor, he twisted the key, and the engine roared to life, signaling the start of another day's work in the field.
Today, he was set to plow a cornfield, expecting a bountiful harvest. However, little did he know, something unexpected stood in his path, waiting to disrupt his routine.
Prepared For Another Day
Each day, he stepped outside, prepared for another day of hard work. After attaching the plow to his tractor, he turned the key, and the engine came to life, marking the beginning of his day's labor in the fields.
Today, his task was to plow a cornfield, hoping for a plentiful harvest. However, something unforeseen lay ahead, ready to interrupt his usual routine and throw him off course.
Inspecting The Damage
Rodney jumped off his tractor and walked over to inspect the damage. His heart sank as he saw the mangled teeth of the plow, the sight making his frustration rise.
Farming equipment didn’t come cheap, and with government subsidies failing to cover such issues, the cost of repair weighed heavily on him. But as his gaze lingered on the plow, he noticed flecks of silver on the broken teeth. What had he struck?
Approached The Wreckage
Rodney approached the wreckage of the plow, inspecting its teeth with growing curiosity. To his astonishment, the metal teeth were coated in a glimmering array of shiny substances. Among the mixture, he could make out flakes of gold and silver, their brilliance catching the light.
Confusion clouded his mind as he tried to process what he was seeing. His gaze drifted beyond the plow, further down the field, where something else caught his attention. He was about to uncover the mystery of what he had truly stumbled upon.
Something Unusual
Rodney walked through the freshly tilled soil, drawn to something unusual in the distance. As he approached, he realized it was the object his tractor had struck earlier.
Bending down, he uncovered an ancient relic that had been hidden for centuries. Little did he know, this discovery would turn his world upside down.
The True Value Of Family
Rodney Tilton understood the true value of family and the legacy it carried. His family’s roots were deeply tied to their land, a heritage built through generations of dedication and perseverance. His great-grandfather had arrived in America with little to his name, an immigrant with dreams of a better life.
Through sheer hard work, he managed to purchase land and establish a farm. That farm, which began as a modest venture, has endured for over a century, standing as a testament to his great-grandfather’s unwavering determination and the strength of family tradition.
Handed Down
The farm had been handed down through generations, with each new family member taking on the responsibility. Now, it was Rodney's turn to care for it, knowing that one day, he would pass it down to his son.
At just ten years old, his son wasn’t quite ready to take over yet. For now, Rodney dedicated himself to maintaining the farm, ensuring it would be in good hands when the time came for his son to step into his shoes.
Family Remained Determined
The family remained determined, but Rodney couldn't ignore the challenges they faced. Life wasn't as it once was, and it was becoming harder to stay optimistic.
As droughts became more frequent, their harvests dwindled year after year. Rodney recalled the days of plentiful crops on their land, but those memories now seemed distant, replaced by the harsh reality of struggling fields.
Kept Moving Forward
Rodney kept moving forward, doing his best to adapt to the challenges they faced. Despite seeing the farm's profits dwindle each year, he still took pride in the work they had built.
He worked hard to teach his son the ins and outs of farming, but his son’s focus was elsewhere. While Rodney's mind was dedicated to the land, his son was consumed by a different passion that seemed to pull him further from the family business.
To Most People
To most people, coin collecting might seem like an ordinary hobby, but on the farm, it stood out as unusual. Jason, Rodney’s son, had developed an intense fascination with gathering coins from different eras.
Jason often defended his passion by saying it was a way to learn about history. While Rodney couldn't fault his son for having an interest, he couldn't help but wish that Jason would devote more time and energy to the farm, where his skills could be better utilized.
A Lot Of Work
Rodney couldn't ever focus on his son for long because he worked long days. He did almost everything on the farm himself, which meant that he worked long hours - usually from eight in the morning until six at night.
He always had something to do, either laying seeds, plowing fields, or fixing fences. Rodney was always busy.
A Day Like Any Other
It was a day like any other. Rodney woke up at six in the morning and made a pot of coffee and some fresh farm-style eggs. He loved eating the produce he had helped produce on the farm.
He put on his overalls and told his wife that he was heading to the fields to plow them. He had to get them ready by the time summer rolled around.
Had To Do It Now
Rodney had to make sure to get the seeds planted just as summer started. If he was late or made any mistakes, then the entire harvest would suffer for it.
He couldn't afford to have a year's harvest wasted like that, so with diligence, he got to work just in time. But he had no idea what troubles were over the horizon.
Getting The Tractor
He had gone out just like any other day planning to make his living. He fitted the plow to his tractor and turned the ignition. The engine roared to life, as it did most days when he worked on the field.
He was ready to plow a cornfield for a mighty harvest, but there was something he was unaware of - something was in the way.
Wrecking The Plough
He started plowing his field just like he always did. After going back and forth over his field, he was nearly done plowing, but he decided to toss the soil one more time.
He took the tractor over the field one last time, but that's when disaster struck. He was nearly at the end of the field when he heard the horrible noise of scraping steel, and his tractor shook violently. What happened?
Screaming In Frustration
Rod hopped off of his tractor and went to examine what had happened. When he saw that some of his plow's teeth were mangled, he wanted to scream in frustration.
Farming equipment wasn't cheap, and the government's subsidies wouldn't cover something like this. But that's when he saw flecks of silver on the teeth; what did he hit?
Shiny Metal
Rod got closer to the wreck of the plow and looked closely at the teeth. He didn't imagine it; the teeth of the plow were coated with different shiny metals. He saw flakes of gold and silver.
He had no idea what to make of it. Then he looked past the plow further down the field. He was about to find out what he had hit.
Unearthing Something
Rod trudged through the freshly plowed soil towards something he hadn't seen before. As he got closer, he was sure it was whatever he had hit with his tractor.
He bent down and saw that he had inadvertently unearthed something that had been buried for centuries. His life was about to change forever.
Opening The Box
Rodney saw what looked like the remnants of what used to be a metal box. He slammed into it with his plow and smashed it.
Somehow, the latch still held while he could see huge tears on the surface of the box, spilling out metal objects. But Rodney had no idea what he was in for when he decided to open the box.
Calling One Person
Rodney carefully opened the latch and, with a bit of effort, pried the lid off the box with a terrible scraping sound. But once it was open, his jaw dropped at what he saw.
He knew exactly what he would do. He ran back to his tractor and took his phone. He knew exactly the right person to call.
Jason
Jason may have only been ten, but his coin fascination went a long way. He could tell his father all about a coin's history just by looking at it.
In his spare time, he spent hours watching historical videos on coins. But would he be able to help him now that he was sitting in the field with a wrecked plow?
A Lot Of Trouble
Jason was busy cleaning the pig pen when he got the call from his dad. He agreed to walk over to the field and take a look at what his father had found.
In the meantime, Rodney was shaken to the core. He knew that if this didn't pay off, then he would be in a lot of trouble with his wrecked plow.
An Expert Opinion
Jason trudged his way through the mud towards his father, who was kneeling by a scrap of mangled metal. He thought his father was crazy, but he hadn't seen what he had yet.
Once he got there, he was the ruined plow further on ahead. He knew enough to know how bad that was, but then he looked down at his father, a cocktail of emotions swirling around inside of him.
Looking At The Box
That's when Jason looked down at the open box. His father had hauled it out of the ditch and onto the soil. That's when Jason nearly dropped the shovel he was asked to bring.
The glint of gold and silver made his eyes pop as his mouth hung open. Rodney might not have known what they were, but he did, and it was unbelievable.
A Rarity
Jason picked up some of the coins that weren't mangled by the plow and examined them. He couldn't believe what he was looking at. They were definitely a rarity, and they were old.
He didn't know much about the coin he held in his hands, but he knew enough to know that it was worth a lot. And judging by the amount in the box, they were onto a treasure trove.
Getting Them Appraised
Rodney and Jason took a sample of the coins to a historian who could tell them more about the coins. The historian had credentials in archaeology as well as anthropology.
He was the perfect person to look at them. Once in front of the bag of coins, they could see by the look on his face that it was something beyond their wildest dreams.
Civil War Coins
The historian told Rodney and Jason that the coins were Civil War Era minted gold and silver coins. They had been out of circulation for over a hundred years and must have been buried before Rodney's great-grandfather bought the land.
While Rodney was wondering how much they were worth, Jason wanted to know how they ended up on the farm. The historian was happy to answer both of them.
Tucked Away
The historian told Jason that it wasn't uncommon for some civil war soldiers to hide their life savings or even money that they had raided during the war.
With Jason's curiosity sated, it was time for the historian to tell Rodney if they would be able to cover the damage to his plow. The answer nearly had him in tears.
A Fortune
Despite some of the coins being mangled, they were still worth their weight in silver and gold. As for the coins in perfect condition, they were worth much more.
After going back and counting them, the historian told Rodney that all 700 coins were worth a whopping two million dollars! Rodney couldn't believe what had started as a bad day had a twist in his favor. Hitting that box was the best thing he could have done.
Keeping One
The historian worked for a museum and told him that they would purchase the coins from him for 1.6 million dollars on the spot. Rodney wasn't a greedy man and was happy they'd go to a museum where lots of kids like Jason could see them. But then he saw the frown on Jason's face.
Rodney tossed his hair and looked back at the historian. "I'll sell you 699 of the coins, but I'm keeping one." He said before winking at his son.