A pristine, uncirculated Susan B. Anthony dollar from 1979 can sell for nearly $2,000. Unfortunately, mine's not that new, but even if it were, I would never part with it, and I'll tell you why, and also how it has become not only my newest Heroine charm, but a relic, which enhances its power. Hopefully in your own daily life as a Hellenist or a Pagan, you can draw inspiration from this for your own creations and devotion.
This coin was presented to me at a local bank today. What're the odds that on the first day of Women's History Month, a bank would change out to me the last Susan B. Anthony coin they had, a coin that's been out of circulation since the end of the last century? I took it as a sign, to be honest. Susan B. Anthony, undoubtedly an American Heroine, was immortalized here. And not only is it the most valuable kind of the mint, but it also qualifies as a relic because it is a remnant of the past, and a circulation that no longer exists. On a side note, I have loved these kinds of coins ever since my days as a child at my grandfather's house. He was from the World War II Era. He had an entire plastic bag of Susan, Eisenhower, and JFK coins, just tons of them. Some would probably be worth a lot today.
I decided I will not spend or sell this coin, if the latter would even be profitable. Instead, I am going to put it into a coin holder and make a necklace out of it, using the relic to invoke the Heroine for national and personal strength. Some may see it as a bit of a contrast because Susan B. Anthony was a champion for women, and I am not a woman. This is certainly true, but She also believed in, and understood, the American ideal and what being an American means. If we ever needed that in our nation, we certainly do now. If we have ever needed freedom to pick up the flag and carry on, now's the time. For me, this relic reminds that America belongs to all of us, that there's no one to "take it back" from. This is where all of mankind comes to be free. There are no "others," there are only Americans. Me, you, Susan, black, white, gay, straight, or whatever it may be. It tells me that we fight for each other.
The last thing I want the reader to take from this post is to always have an eye for the past, because relics or objects to connect you to Gods or Heroes can come when you least expect it, and from the most common places.
In the Goodness of the Gods,
I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,
Chris Aldridge.
