Ann Tait

THE SIXPENCE

When I was very young I found a sixpence on the road. It was just lying there at my feet and as I picked it up and popped it in my pocket I gleefully thought of what I could buy with it.

When I got home I left it where it was ,and instead of spending it I moved it from pocket to pocket. When I needed reassurance I rubbed it gently between my fingers.

The sixpence lived with me through thick and thin – exams, college, work, marriage and children. It is no longer in my pocket, but in a case with other coins.

It sparked off a lifelong interest in coins, which will never leave me. I love the shapes of the faces and the edges, the inscriptions and the different coloured metals – and all because I found a ‘Tanner’ on the road.

- Ann Tait