The True Cost of a Found Five-Dollar Gold Piece
A local man's sudden windfall leads to a cautionary tale of impulsive spending that quickly outstripped his luck.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Higgins made a dive for something in the mud at his feet, fished it out between his thumb and finger, and slapped his thigh joyfully as he said: 'A five-dollar gold piece, sure as guns! First money I ever found in my life! I’ll have me a new hat out of that, and take the babies home some toys and something to my wife!' A moment later he met two friends and suggested they step into Archie Flynn’s place to celebrate. What he 'set up' cost eighty cents, and ten minutes later he met three of the 'boys' from the office and generously set up cigars all around. By the time Higgins tallied his spending—including theater tickets, a new cane, neckties, and a vase for his wife—the five-dollar coin had cost him sixteen dollars and ninety-five cents. 'If I’d found twenty dollars I’d have gone into bankruptcy,' he said, as he turned to one of the boys and borrowed a dollar to last him until Saturday.
“If I’d found twenty dollars I’d have gone into bankruptcy, hanged if I wouldn’t.”
This 19th-century anecdote about 'found money' perfectly mirrors the modern psychological phenomenon where unexpected gains (like tax refunds or windfalls) are spent far more recklessly than hard-earned wages. The 'Archie Flynn’s' of the 1880s may be gone, but the social pressure to 'shout' a round of drinks when fortune smiles remains a perennial feature of civic life.
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