The living room smelled of green degreaser, damp wool, and copper.

We’d spread four old bath towels over the rug, covered with thousands of shiny pennies that had been scrubbed clean with plastic toothbrushes and rinsed in dishpans.

Lily sat by the couch, sorting coins into tidy stacks of ten.

Noah worked at the low coffee table, sliding fifty coins at a time into thin paper tubes.

Irene patted her apron pockets out of habit and wiped a bright copper coin with a clean tea towel.

“We’ve got six thousand wrapped, Becky.