Inheriting quarters meant the world for a man named Vinny.
When people hear the word "inheritance," they often imagine large sums of money, property, expensive jewelry, or other things with clear monetary value. But sometimes what a loved one passes along to their heirs when they die is valuable for reasons that have nothing to do with money—even when the item actually is money.
A man named Vinny received an unusual gift from his grandma before she passed away. He posted an image of a vase full of coins on Reddit, writing, "Grandma gave me 7,679 quarters." Vinny shared more pictures of the coins on his Imgur profile, @Raslatt84, and shared the wholesome story behind it.
from coins
According to Newsweek, Vinny's grandma lived in Montana and she had decided to leave those coins for her beloved grandson for a special reason. "We were very close," Vinny told Newsweek. "I was the oldest grandkid, so I was the first to get all of her love and attention." His grandma passed away in 2022 and Vinny paid her a final visit to say goodbye. That was when he got the vase full of coins that was meant for him as a parting gift.
"Grandma was a career waitress in Montana," he revealed to the outlet. "She grew up on a farm near the border of Montana and Canada. She went to beauty school after high school graduation and worked as a beautician for a little while, but then became a waitress for most of her life."
Vinny's grandma was loved by the locals who visited the restaurant where she worked. Each time Vinny visited his grandma, she would give him a few quarters as a gift. "My mom and I would visit grandma at work during her shift breaks. Grandma would always give me a couple of quarters to use in the restaurant's candy machine," Vinny recalled.
"I became accustomed to grandma giving me quarters for the candy—so I would naturally tug on her waitress uniform when I first saw her and say, 'quarters grandma, quarters'," Vinny wrote on Reddit. "I gave her the vase as a Christmas present when I was about 12 years old." After that, Vinny's grandma started putting every quarter she received as tips from her customers, into the vase. "Grandma was not an investor—but she was a good saver," Vinny said. "I was in shock when I found out she had saved all of the quarters for me."
Imagine receiving over 7,000 quarters that each represent a grandmother's love.Photo credit: Canva
The fact that Vinny gave her the vase makes the gift extra special. Vinny estimated that the coins weighed close to 95 pounds, and after sorting and counting them, he had a total of $1,919. He also checked for silver quarters, but there were none. Later on, Vinny took the quarters to Wells Fargo and had the money invested in a brokerage account.
"I do wish I had checked for misprints," Vinny concluded. "In hindsight, I wish I had kept the vase of quarters to pass down. I am very lucky to have had her as my grandma."
One commenter called the gift "priceless," and another wrote, "This Grandma wins the medal of beautiful sentiment. Lovingly handcrafted over 25 years. Give her a massive hug - from internet romantics."
Vinny grandma gave him a priceless gift. Photo credit: Canva
If you're wondering what the average inheritance amount is in the U.S., the number might look surprising at first glance. According to Federal Reserve Data from 1989 to 2020, the average inheritance for an American household is $46,200. However, as Yahoo Finance points out, that number is drastically skewed by the extremely wealthy who inherit amounts far higher than that. In reality, 70% to 80% of households receive no inheritance at all.
But as this jar full of quarters shows, sometimes a modest inheritance can be simply priceless.
This article originally appeared three months ago.