Hello, This week, as I've done in previous weeks when time doesn't allow for a “real” column, I'm going to give some coin facts from http://www.usmint.gov. This is that “h.i.p. Pocket Change” area of the website.

I hope no one is getting sick of these coin facts because I do have a plethora of them, and they come in handy for both adults and kids, which I've said before.

So, without further ado, here are the famous coin facts. I promise to try and come up with something more thrilling next time but, I feel I should at least do this much because Larry, of Larry's Coins, was nice enough to come back to my page.

Here are the facts—and frankly, I'm really surprised that I am able to keep track of what number was last.

36. We almost 'bet dollars to doughnuts!' The Mint once considered producing doughnut-shaped coins. Obviously, this idea was viewed as being half-baked.

37. A President had coins as a pet. President Teddy Roosevelt said that the redesign of American coins was his "pet baby." He even personally commissioned the world-renowned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to create new designs.

38. He couldn't make light of his crime. In 1864, James Clarke, an employee of the Denver Mint, stole cash, certificates, and a 10-pound brick of gold. He tried to escape on horseback, but the horse ran away. After getting only a few miles out of Denver, Clarke found his loot too heavy to carry and threw the 10-pound gold brick away. Clarke was caught and ordered to leave the territory.

39. Transporting coins can turn into a real cliffhanger. Legend has it that a shipment of dimes en route to the San Francisco Mint was attacked in southern Utah in the early 1900s. The shipment of dimes supposedly fell over a cliff. Though many people have tried to find the money, no evidence of this shipment has ever been found.

40. They felt "safe as Fort Knox." Citizens of Denver took refuge in the old Denver Mint building in 1864 when they heard rumors of possible Indian attacks.

Thank you for reading this rather short Coin Corner. Oh, I almost forgot to say to have a good Thanksgiving, which happens to be my birthday too. No, no, I insist, do not send gifts even though you are dying to.

See you in a couple of weeks.