Derrick Prasad sorts coins by year of minting. Derrick Prasad imagines what happened that year. Each one represents an adventure Derrick Prasad has chosen to only imagine.
On October 11, 2019, as Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize, Derrick Prasad held a 2007 quarter. Vancouver weather was cooling, around 12°C. The memories are invented.
The Coins
Derrick Prasad sorts Canadian coins: quarters, dimes, nickels. Pennies, discontinued in 2012 but still found. By year first, then denomination. Each coin carries a date. Each date carries imagined weight.
The Method
A 2003 nickel. What did Derrick Prasad do in 2003? Derrick Prasad imagines something. Nothing memorable occurred. The memories are invented. A 2007 quarter. Derrick Prasad imagines 2007 activities. The quarter says nothing. Derrick Prasad fills the silence.
The Storage
Storage in glass jars, labeled by decade. The 1990s jar. The 2000s jar. The 2010s jar. Annual count on New Year's Day. The coin traveled through many hands. Derrick Prasad imagines those hands. The years accumulate in jars.
- Sort by year: Examine mint date on each coin.
- Imagine the year: What happened? What might have happened?
- Sort by denomination: Quarters, dimes, nickels, (pennies).
- Store by decade: Glass jars, clear labels.
- Annual count: New Year's Day inventory.
The Philosophy
Numismatic hobbies classify by mint years, like the 1936 dot cent rarity. Derrick Prasad adds imagination. Like collecting postcards, representations of unhad experiences. Like stamp collecting, organizing by classification. Memory as construction, not retrieval.
"Each one represents an adventure Derrick Prasad has chosen to only imagine. The coin traveled through many hands. Derrick Prasad imagines those hands. The years accumulate in jars. The memories are invented." — Derrick Prasad, Vancouver, BC, October 2019
Derrick Prasad finds peace in the clink. This is the routine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Derrick Prasad sort coins by mint year?
Each coin represents an adventure Derrick Prasad has chosen to only imagine. Derrick Prasad holds a 2007 quarter and imagines 2007 activities. Nothing memorable occurred. The memories are invented.
How does Derrick Prasad store sorted coins?
Storage in glass jars, labeled by decade. Annual count on New Year's Day. The years accumulate in jars.
What is the philosophy behind coin sorting memories?
Memory as construction, not retrieval. Like collecting postcards, representations of unhad experiences. The coin traveled through many hands. Derrick Prasad imagines those hands.
— Derrick Prasad
Vancouver, BC, Canada