If only it really rained pennies from heaven

Metal has always played a big part in my life, at least the admiration of it. Duing the Great Depression, the few pennies we teenagers could earn came from collecting junk metal. Scrap metal such as aluminum, brass, copper and iron were like precious metals to us.

As the years rolled by, objects of yellow, white and pink gold became desirable, as well as platinum.

About all we Depression-era kids could afford were the free looks we got in the windows of downtown Youngstown’s iconic jewelry stores, like Pugh Brothers and Klivans.

I graduated from East High School in June 1942 and received my first piece of jewelry as a graduation present from my parents.

17 jewels

It was a pink rolled gold plated 17 jewels Benrus wristwatch, with a matching expandable metal band. Of course the rolled gold plate and gold-filled watches could not compare with the expensive solid gold models. In those days, gold was pegged at $25 an ounce. Now it’s about $930 an ounce and platinum is $2,000.

Comparing an ounce of those two metals to, say, copper can be mind-boggling. They are all extracted from the earth. Ten copper pennies weigh an ounce and are worth just a dime.

The law of supply and demand comes into play. Yet, even today, I will pick up a filthy, next-to-worthless penny from the ground. You can take a person out of the Great Depression, but you can’t take the Great Depression out of the person.

X Michael J. Lacivita is a Youngstown retiree. He has been inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame and Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.