Lucky quarter

Post by **TleilaxuEyes** » 22 Jul 2008

My searches didn't turn up anything, so here goes nothing:

Travis carries around his "lucky quarter" during the entire game, and I've been trying to figure out its significance. I was expecting it to be used for something near the end of the game, like the pendent in SH3, but nope, it just sits in your inventory with no obvious purpose. So, I got to wondering: why is it in the game?

My theory is that it's the quarter that Travis had left over after playing pinball at the motel as a kid. The only time anyone ever mentions a quarter in a cutscene is when the younger Travis finds his dad's body and says he has a quarter left. As for the "61" carved into the coin, I think that it's shorthand for 1961, which I think is either the year his mother was locked away, or the year his father died. At first, I thought 1961 was the year that Travis' parents got married (based on the rotary calendar puzzle), but I don't think that Travis was born out of wedlock, so he'd only be about 18 if the game takes place in 1979, which it would have to in order for SH1 to take place in 1986 and SH3 to take place in 2003, as this website's timeline has already established. Since Travis' father mentions in a letter that Helen was locked up for (at least) 2 years before his death, that means that she was locked up either around 1959 or 1961, and that he died in either 1961 or 1963.

Here's what has me the confused the most. Why would Travis call it his "lucky" quarter if it's actually a memento of his father's suicide or his mother's insanity? That certainly doesn't sound lucky to me.

EDIT: I just noticed the new, updated timeline in the general forum. A few of my dates are apparently wrong, but it doesn't really change much of my theory.

Post by **AdjectiveRyan** » 22 Jul 2008

I remember that james had a picture of his wife that did nothing but stayed in your inventory. I just can't recall if any of the other characters had anything like that. I know for certain henry didn't have anything like that or people would have been more pissed about the limited space for items.

Post by **The Adversary** » 22 Jul 2008

>as this website's timeline has already established.
You should check it again, because my timeline has never suggested the 1986/2003 correlation.

>I was expecting it to be used for something near the end of the game
It is. Travis uses it to solve the box puzzle.

It's his lucky quarter because he beat the arcade game w/out having to use it.

Post by **Dutchman** » 22 Jul 2008

Maybe he carries it around as some form of atonement. He might feel guilty about what happened to his parents. It's not uncommon for people to feel some form of guilt when something horrible happened to loved ones...

Post by **WickedQu33n** » 23 Jul 2008

It seems to be the only thing he carries from his past...and it got him out of silent in a manner of speaking...
LUCKY!

Post by **Detective Cartland** » 23 Jul 2008

Mockingbird explained why he carries and how its deemed "lucky".

Post by **WickedQu33n** » 23 Jul 2008

Yes I know I was just elaborating...maybe its because his father gave me the coin as well

Post by **valkyre** » 23 Jul 2008

people dont usually say so loudly why things are so important

'eh, i just like that lamp, thats all "

he says about the last thing his girlfriend touched....

Post by **Rob Matter** » 23 Jul 2008

I forgot about the quarter my first round, as various files throughout the game betrayed the year for the motel combination.

Website · Post by **angelofROOM302** » 24 Jul 2008

Well, like you I definantly think that it's one of the quarters left over from pinball.
I think of it as this way, Travis didn't really have much of a life obviously when he was younger. Pinball was something that made him happy

Probably the only thing that made him happy.

Post by **WickedQu33n** » 24 Jul 2008

And he got it from his dead father..

Post by **FiliusMartis** » 24 Jul 2008

I don't have my copy of Origins handy at the moment, so can someone remind me... doesn't the item description say that its a coin from when his parents died? That sort of led me to believe that his parents had died in an accident together. I know that's not the case, but it seems obvious that Travis had buried the truth in himself anyhow.. so who knows what he thought? I figured the significance wasn't just that he'd won pinball or that the coin was from his father... but it was the last thing his father ever gave him.

TheRedOne · Post by **TheRedOne** » 24 Jul 2008

I believe you can use it to help determine the date needed for the rotary calender puzzle...
http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/psp/file/933072/50757

Post by **AuraTwilight** » 24 Jul 2008

Which leads me to the next question: Just how do you win at pinball? It's supposed to go on forever until you die, racking up points! How the hell did Travis win? Methinks he's a lying bastard who wanted to keep the quarter.

Post by **Detective Cartland** » 24 Jul 2008

Maybe he figured he wanted to get to a specific amount of points and he "won" at his goal.

Post by **FiliusMartis** » 24 Jul 2008

He could have beaten the high score.. I would consider that winning in some cases.

Post by **Cyrus** » 26 Mar 2009

If you examine it, Travis says that there is something that looks like "61" on it, which is a solution to a puzzle later on in the game, I don't know if the number changes depending on the game playthroughs.