Aside from collecting, coins have longed played a very important part in our lives. I’m not talking about needing them to grab yourself a pint of semi-skimmed down at the Spar shop; no, I mean on a deeper level (well, at least some of it is on a deeper level).
Anyways, enough of this introductory twaddle and on with the show. I am prattling on about nothing and there are several different examples to squeeze in…..
Video Games
Anyone who had a misspent youth will know just how important a coin used to be when loitering in the local amusement arcade. With the first wave of video games, it could keep you entertained for twenty minutes or so (if you were good). And with the next wave of titles (and the advent of ‘continue game?’) it meant you could have another crack at beating that super-tough end of level baddie.
Not that I would know anything about any of this of course. A) I was above that kind of thing and B) there is no way I am old enough to remember the original ‘Space Invaders’, ‘Scramble’, ‘Galaxians’, ‘Gorf’ or anything else.
And of course……
2p Pushers
For decades, part of visiting the coast has meant standing in front of a very simple machine and jamming endless coins into a couple of different slots in order to win some worthless trinket! We all love them (even if we are to make out that we don’t). They are addictive, exciting and a whole lot of fun.
Coin Toss
Used to start football matches and many other sports events, the coin toss is donkeys old and there is no sign of it going anywhere soon. It is a sure-fire way of deciding something and is a known procedure to just about everyone on the planet. It is mentioned in numerous songs, books and movies. In fact, in some edge-of-your-seat thrillers, even a persons’ fate can be decided on the toss of a coin. Ulp!
Death
According to Greek mythology, it was necessary to pay Charon (The Ferryman of the Underworld) a single coin in order to gain safe passage across the River Styx into Hades. This was why coins were normally placed within the mouths of the dead.
Failure to give a single coin to Charon would apparently result in a century of wandering along the shore of Styx as punishment. It is unclear what type of coin was preferred as payment (a fee known as ‘Charon’s obol’) but I would hasten a guess it wouldn’t be a 2019 ‘Royal Shield Section’ fifty pence.
Phone Boxes
Yup, before every person on the planet (even four and five year olds) had their own mobile phone, coins were super-duper important. Without a few ten pences it would be impossible to organise staying at a mate’s house or asking out that girl you had had your eye on at school.
Back at that time phone boxes were a lifeline (quite literally for some) and they were dotted around all over. It may sound impossible and silly now but that is really how it used to be. I also happen to think it was nicer too!
© Article copyright Mik Smith 2022
MAIN IMAGE and all OTHER IMAGES – reblogged from freepik.com
Except for ‘CHARON THE FERRYMAN’ IMAGE – reblogged from artstation.com
I remember going to the social club with my Dad and he would always give us 10p for the Space invaders, kept us quiet for a few minutes as i was never any good lol
Space Invaders was actually really hard!
But I was a dab hand at Scramble (when someone hadn’t bust the joystick), Galaxians and Phoenix.
Good times 🙂
I used to love playing pacman and asteroids at the social club on a Saturday night with the parents, think they were glad is kids were out the way. Also the 2p machines at the arcades were the best 👌
2p pushers rock! 🙂
Was pants at Pacman AND Asteroids…. but still tried lol.
I used to spend hours (probably minutes actually) and all of my pocket money on Pacman!
Also I’m not sure about coins in the mouth of the dead but they were certainly used on the eyelids to keep them shut!
However the best use of coins in my misspent youth was for ‘shove ha’penny’, although we used to throw them against a wall to see who could get the closest!
And then there is spoof, where you have to take it in turns to guess how many coins someone has in their clasped hand, usually to decide on who is paying for the next round of drinks.
There is also a lot to be said for old games like that Phil 🙂 Far nicer things back then compared to now I think.
I loved the whole look and concept of Pacman – I was just crap at it no matter how hard I tried lol.
PS – yes, you are absolutely right about coins on eyelids. I have a really good pic from The Hitcher to use but thought it was a bit near the knuckle……. 😉
coins in/on dead were a tradition to pay the ferryman to take the soul to the next level.still used in some cultures on the eyes to this day.always carried a couple of old 1d in my case when arranging a funeral just in case I was asked,which I often was by the elder generation
Alot of years ago we used to watch out for weddings, as the bride would throw handfuls of change from the wedding car as she went to get married. Then all the kids would scramble to collect as many as they could, then it was off to the sweet shop.
A shame this little ritual is no more.
A nice little earner for kids by the sound of it 🙂
Bit older than you lot. I remember the first ‘penny falls’ machines back in the early 1960s. They did give you a fighting chance back then not loaded down with massive ceramic knick-knacks. Careful scrutiny would reveal that fine condition ‘bun head’ Victorian penny then it was game on. Happy days as they say.