The fact that you’re reading this rather gives away the answer: we did find some. To be precise, one guilder, a handful of 25-cent coins, a few 10-cent coins and a couple of 5-cent coins, amounting to a grand total of ƒ3,40. In the same envelope, we discovered seven euro cents, a Douwe Egberts coffee machine token and an American penny featuring Abe Lincoln’s profile and the familiar motto “In God We Trust”.
But why did Observant have small change lying around in the first place? Until last year, the paper carried small classified ads known as Paarltjes. If you needed help around the house, wanted to sell your old bike or had a student room to let, you could place one. It cost no more than 15 guilders (later 8 euros – inflation never caught up with us), to be paid in cash at the office.
For any interested coin collectors out there: most of the coins date from the 1980s and 1990s, though there are a few 25- and 10-cent pieces from the early 1970s, and even one from 1964.