A Visit From The Tooth Fairy

Just last week my eldest came up to me and announced, in a terribly excited voice, that he had his very first loose tooth. Oh boy, oh boy! I knew that a visit from the Tooth Fairy was imminent, so I started thinking of what she might bring. The going rate for a tooth these days ranges anywhere from $0.25 to $10.00, so I figured $3.00 would be a reasonable amount – enough to get something little, but not so much that if he lost 5 in one week it would get out of hand. Then I remembered that when I was little, the Tooth Fairy at my grandparent’s place always left cool coins under my pillow – coins that I have treasured to this day – and I wanted my own kids to have that kind of magical experience, rather than just getting money to spend on stuff they wouldn’t even remember.

Dollar, half-dollar, and carnival dollar coins that the Tooth Fairy left me. Which led me to start collecting other coins that I like.

I have pennies as old as 1928 – some with George V & VI on them.

And pennies that show the maturation of Elizabeth II (1953-2010).

My family immigrated to Canada during WWII, bringing very little in the way of “heirlooms” with them. Sometimes I feel like I don’t have much of a history to draw from, so I really like the idea of having pennies that (with a few gaps) span time from present day all the way back to the year my grandmother was born. Given that the penny may not be around for much longer (in our ever-escalating economy), I also think it will be cool to share this piece of history with my kids and maybe even grandkids one day. I’ve also collected a couple of the different quarter sets that they’ve put out over the years, and thanks to my mother-in-law, my kids have received various coin sets as gifts.

My eldest with his first lost tooth…which actually got LOST.

When the time came that my eldest lost his first tooth (and I mean REALLY lost it, as in, he ate it with his pizza), I decided that I wanted the Tooth Fairy to bring him some special coins (in addition to the $3), but I wasn’t quite sure what kind. The trick was how to make them special without spending a fortune? I started surfing the web and found a lot of, um… interesting (read “kinda girly”) Tooth Fairy ideas – letters, glitter footprints, special boxes, etc… and one site that sold “coins of the world” sets. What a great idea! Not only could my son collect interesting coins, but we could also sneak in a little geography lesson in the process. Of course, there was the $38+shipping and time factors to consider… so instead, I went to the local farmer’s market and dug through the coin dealer’s little treasure chest of “5 for a dollar” coins, and voila – instant collection.

For less than $20 (the owner cut me a deal), I got two identical sets of over 50 different coins – one for each of my sons.

The Tooth Fairy can bring a couple each time, in addition to the $3.

They feature cool imagery, interesting countries, and AGE (1908!!!)

We wrote the Tooth Fairy a letter explaining the lost tooth situation, and she was kind enough to leave a loonie, a toonie, and an old fashioned Canadian dollar (from 1969). My son was THRILLED. I pulled out my collections and we examined them for a while, then he got very excited about starting his own. I just happened to have an extra storage folder lying around <ahem>, which he immediately claimed and then went about going through is piggy bank looking for unusual specimens. Next lost tooth, the coins will not be so easy to recognize, so we shall have to look them up and perhaps print out a map to mark origins on. Hurrah! Let’s hear it for cool coins!

What about you? Any fun Tooth Fairy tales you wish to share?