38Talk:

You remind me of an anecdote. Also through the auspices of Mystic Seaport, I was fortunate enough to sail once on a USS Constitution Turnaround Cruise. During the entire cruise, a few service members were tasked with continually running an American flag (not the ensign, an additional flag) up and down a flag-halyard. They would run one flag up, bring it right back down, fold it, unpack a new flag, run it up, bring it down, fold it, etc. They must have gone through hundreds of flags during the few hours we were out. When I asked about it, I learned that it was to generate a stock of "flags flown aboard the Constitution under sail" for commemmorative gifts for cadets and officers. So no, you're not alone - we do really seem to value the stories that link these objects together. This connects to some of the thoughts people have shared about the Morgan's "originality." Is a 2014 quarter that has sailed aboard the Morgan physically different from a 2014 Quarter that stayed shoreside? Not appreciably. But the story of the person who takes the quarter aboard, remembers it, hands it down to someone else with the accompanying tale - that distinguishes that quarter from every other quarter, as long as the tale is remembered.