ASSOCIATED PRESS - Holbrook, MA - An 11 year old boy with a passion for coin collecting saw his nightmare transform into a miracle in a heartwarming story from this small rural town. It all began when a single family home on Harwich Ave was robbed in late August of 2007. Christopher Foley, a tiny, freckled boy with curly blonde hair, returned with his family from a summer trip to their ransacked home. Among other valuables, the thieves had stolen Christopher’s most prized possession: his coin collection. Christopher had been collecting coins since he was six years old. He had an Ike Dollar, two Buffalo nickels, Liberty Heads, and dozens of other rare and old coins. His favorite piece however, was only worth sixty four cents. “I had every year’s penny from 1943 to 2007. The pennies were my favorite,” he told us. A month later the Foley’s insurance company had reimbursed them for most of their losses. A penny collection, however, is not something easily replaced.

That’s when Christopher’ dad gave him his big idea. “I told him, why don’t you send Grandpa a letter? I’m sure he has a lot of old pennies in his house,” the elder Foley said. So Christopher did exactly that. He sent his grandfather in Florida a letter with his request, a return envelope, and a cardboard pennyholder that has year labels underneath slots to place each penny in. Christopher expected his grandfather to find a dozen or so pennies and send him the package back within a few days.

After two weeks passed without receiving a reply, he got worried. With his dad’s assistance, Christopher called his grandfather and asked if he had received the letter. When he replied yes, Christopher then asked why he hadn’t returned it yet. The answer foreshadowed what was about to happen–”I’m sorry Christopher , but I only could find a handful of old pennies here.  So I forwarded your letter to a friend of mine in South Carolina. I am sure he has some pennies from back then that he’d be happy to share.”

When two more weeks passed and still no pennies, again Christopher called his grandfather. This time he was told that the friend in South Carolina had sent the package off to another friend in Kentucky. And slowly a chain began.

The weeks continued to pass, and Christopher had nearly forgotten about the letter. Then one evening, as the Foley’s were about to sit down for supper, a FedEx truck pulled down old Harwich Ave. Christopher’s father signed for the package, then looked at Christopher, “It’s for you”. Excitedly the boy, not quite knowing what to expect, opened the box. When he pulled out what was inside–”I almost fainted!”–he later told us.

Inside were one hundred and forty-seven pennies, a penny from every year dating back to 1860–the first year of the Civil War. Also inside was a journal with well wishes and signatures from forty two people who had helped rebuild the collection way beyond its original size. What once was a child’s modest hobby was now a collection worthy of the Smithsonian–all thanks to the generosity of mostly strangers. “It was probably the most amazing thing that I’ve ever witnessed in my life,” Christopher’s father said. “Here he is, a young boy who’s strongest memory of the world was that a few strangers had broken into his home, and stolen his coin collection, now gets to see how good the world can be and how the good is even greater than the bad.”

Christopher now displays his penny collection proudly to visitors of his family’s home, but now he’s a little more careful, “My parents bought a safe, because now the collection is worth ‘real money’ they said, and we want to keep it safe.”

Real money indeed. One coin afficiando estimates a collection that large is worth tens of thousands of dollars, if not more. But to little Christopher, these pennies, and the story they come with, are priceless.