The Great Depression was one of the hardest times in our nation's history. And it was a time when lesser men, not so brave, would have laid down and given up. But we are not a nation of lesser men.
In a time of great need, our grandparents put on their coveralls and went to work. I'll never forget my grandfather talking about the lard sandwiches that he had to eat during the Great Depression. That's all he had. Grandma could make bread. She sliced it as thin as she could and put lard on and that's all they had to eat. That's the way they worked and they work untold hours in factories, and they did what needed to be done for their family and for their children. They learned to never take what they had for granted ever again. They learned never waste – use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.
Do you remember your grandparents saying that? Their perseverance and endurance gave our parents our lives and our fortunes. We have to remember these people and these times and know that these times were made by the hard times.
There's a new phrase that we use here in the studios all the time. And it is: Hard times made us. As a country, hard times made us. The hard times in my life made me who I am today. Hard times made us.
I asked if 1791 would begin a new series of collector coins because our audience, for some reason, loves these collector coins. We have made a ‘Hard Times Made Us’ collector coin, and it's beautiful. It is made of 99.9% pure silver. And my hope is that you will help us fund some of the things that we do by having one of these collector coins, but also that you will have something that's worth something and something you can have in your pocket.
Might I remind you that what is inside each of us needs to be wide awake and standing at the ready because hard times will make us again and make us much stronger and much better. Let's honor our grandparents and remember the strength that we got from them. Hard times made us – a new t-shirt and new collector's coin to help us continue our job and our work here.
Learn more about the coin and t-shirt HERE.