An All Hallow's Eve Fright Fest—A Modern Day Tale

Rusty, Amy, Maya and Marie on Halloween at the coin shop

I don't know if it is the crisp fall air, or neighbors coming together, or dressing-up, or the great chance of getting a cavity, or maybe a concoction of it all, but to me, Halloween is king. There is nothing more magical than this frightful day filled with sweet treats, spooky tricks, and...numismatics?

Marie as a 19th century woman, and Rusty as Emeril Lagasse

That's right folks; no one does Halloween bigger than the puppeteer and ghouls of Southgate Coins. Each staffer even owns a black cat! Still don't think that the coin business is bloodcurdling enough for this title? Well then, you must not be following the current uphill gold prices closely enough. Now that's scary.

This year at the store, preparations for our Halloween celebration started earlier than normal. And to my surprise, picking out the costumes seemed to be the hardest part of all! It seemed so much easier picking out a costume when I was a kid…but thankfully due to the release of a new book, possible costume ideas were right at our fingertips. According to this fascinating biography of a man by the name of James Crawford, our staff could dress up as sailors, Spanish princes, the Queen of Hearts, or even my personal favorite, P. T. Barnum's half-monkey, half-blackman of Darwin's Missing Link.

Four coin shop staffers in costume on Halloween

But surprisingly enough, not one staffer took those suggestions from the nineteenth century, and instead came to work dressed in other "creative" costumes. Take for instance our boss Rusty. He comes strolling into the shop dressed as the most famous chef Emeril Lagasse. Our Miss Maya decided to go further in history than the nineteenth century and came as a Renaissance peasant woman. And how did our sweet Marie turn into a turn-of-the-century high society Gibson girl overnight? And I decided to come as a gold digger. But! Does my costume represent my beloved profession in gold and other metals, or does it take a different meaning?? Many will assume, but none will ever know the truth. AAAAhahaha!!!

For a Halloween themed lunch, this gold digger decided to treat her fellow friendly goblins to her famous Bloody Mary Chili and Human Flesh Cornbread. For an afternoon treat, an orange frosted jack-o-lantern cupcake cluster, frosted sugar cookies, and even more yummy cupcakes, was just the ticket. Rusty and Marie then followed that by giving their favorite ghouls some Halloween prizes.