A Special Dollar (by William)

I have a very special dollar.  I won’t buy anything with it because it is priceless.  You might guess it is from the tooth fairy or a red envelope--turns out it is from the beach.  It’s not even a real dollar, it is a sand dollar.

About a week ago, Auntie Kathleen, a co-worker of mom, was strolling along a beach in Washington State.  Then she found the sand dollar and gave it to mom with a poem.  

The sand dollar is a flat sea urchin.  It is covered in sharp bristles and is usually purplish red color when it is alive.  Its mouth is a hole on the underside.  Sand dollars can be as small as dimes and as big as saucers.  They can use their bristles for burrowing into sand, and flower shaped tubed feet for sucking in water.  When they die, they are washed up, loose their bristles, and get bleached by the sun. If you break a sand dollar apart, you might see little doves flying out.  Those aren’t real doves, they are the bone structures.  You may find sand dollars on the beaches of both east and west coasts. 

Mouth of the Sand Dollar

Sand dollars got their name because they looked like the old American dollar coin.  The flower pattern looked like the leaves of plants engraved on a silver dollar.

When I go to the beach next time, I hope to find a live sand dollar.

All Things Considered – WPR (William Public Radio) News