Meeting coin collectors in unusual places.

[Offa]

During mid 1982 I was deployed to the south Atlantic as part of the UK task force, as a medic I was based of the hospital ship SS Canberra. We treated Argentinian casualties as well as our own, I was on duty when an Argentinian soldier was brought in with shrapnel wounds, he spoke excellent English and we began chatting as I treated his wounds. It turned out that he was also a coin collector and had a quite sizeable collection back home in cordoba, as we were talking I gave him some uk coins that I had in my pocket and he offered me some Argentinian coins. That was the start of a friendship that has lasted to this day and we regularly swap coins from each others countries. Even the ravages of war can't come between collectors and their coins.

[Deeman]

Great story Offa. Many thanks for sharing it.

[krishna]

During mid 1982 I was deployed to the south Atlantic as part of the UK task force, as a medic I was based of the hospital ship SS Canberra. We treated Argentinian casualties as well as our own, I was on duty when an Argentinian soldier was brought in with shrapnel wounds, he spoke excellent English and we began chatting as I treated his wounds. It turned out that he was also a coin collector and had a quite sizeable collection back home in cordoba, as we were talking I gave him some uk coins that I had in my pocket and he offered me some Argentinian coins. That was the start of a friendship that has lasted to this day and we regularly swap coins from each others countries. Even the ravages of war can't come between collectors and their coins.

Wow, such a touching account
Boundaries and enmity is only there in our mind
There is much more that unites us and numismatics is surely one of them

Truely awesome indeed

[brandm24]

A heartwarming story, Offa. Usually when you get down to the personal level with supposed enemies they turn out to be decent people and often not much different than you. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Bruce

[Tirant]

A heartwarming story, Offa. Usually when you get down to the personal level with supposed enemies they turn out to be decent people and often not much different than you. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Bruce

You nailed it. Probably everybody there wanted anything but being there battling people that they've never met and have nothing against them.

It's great that a good friendship began. Sometimes, politics aren't enough to divide us.

[quaziright]

Lovely story. I got to meet collectors back when I first started using the internet to swap coins in 1999 who are now friends today and coins are just one aspect of the many facets of comprehensive friendships.
Your story though is unique in more ways than one!

[chrisild]

 

[pk72]

I was serving as an Operations Officer/ Navigating Officer on an Indian Navy Destroyer that was responsible for disaster relief on the East Coast of India in the aftermath of Indian Ocean Tsunami (2004). After a week of operations, we had anchored off Nagapatinnam, an old coastal town near the tip of India. I was put ashore to set up a medical camp and coordinate helicopter operations for MADEVAC. In the medical ward, I came across an 80 year old man who would not let go of a small tin box even for the duration of the X-ray of his broken leg, since this was the only worldly possession left with him. Later out of curiosity the nurse opened the box. The box contained a few worn out Indo-Dutch, Ceylon and Chola copper coins.  We weighed anchor the next day for Sumatra, but the memory of this coin collector has stayed on.

[krishna]

I was serving as an Operations Officer/ Navigating Officer on an Indian Navy Destroyer that was responsible for disaster relief on the East Coast of India in the aftermath of Indian Ocean Tsunami (2004). After a week of operations, we had anchored off Nagapatinnam, an old coastal town near the tip of India. I was put ashore to set up a medical camp and coordinate helicopter operations for MADEVAC. In the medical ward, I came across an 80 year old man who would not let go of a small tin box even for the duration of the X-ray of his broken leg, since this was the only worldly possession left with him. Later out of curiosity the nurse opened the box. The box contained a few worn out Indo-Dutch, Ceylon and Chola copper coins.  We weighed anchor the next day for Sumatra, but the memory of this coin collector has stayed on.

May be, they were his family heirlooms sir
But what a great story
My maternal grandfather died in 2012, he was a cigarette smoker, till date i cannot let go of his last cigarette packet and other small items

May be this sense of attachment makes one a collector in the first place

Glad to know that you are /were in the Indian Navy, A big Jai Hind to you!!!