The 2010 film "Dear John" is about the romance between John, an American soldier, and Savannah, a college girl, from the period 2001 to 2007. Most of the film is set in Charleston, South Carolina. A "Dear John" letter is a slang term for letter received by a serviceman from a girlfriend stating that she is going to marry another man. The soldier's father is an obsessed coin collector whose specialty is US mint error coins. John once went on a tour of the US Mint in Philadelphia and was shown an error coin. He received a "mule" coin from an ice cream vendor which his father kept for him. A mule coin is a coin minted with obverse and reverse designs not normally seen on the same piece, in this case the coin has a US Jefferson five cent nickel obverse and a US Lincoln one cent reverse. The mule coin in the film is a prop coin manufactured by embedding a cent into a nickel.

John Tyree is a soldier serving in Afghanistan. He is shot, and mentally reads a letter to his father, who lives in Charleston, South Carolina. He begins with a childhood trip to the Philadelphia Mint.

At the mint, he is shown an error coin, a US five cent nickel with an off-center strike.

John continues with his letter.

In the summer of 2001, John is home in Charleston on leave from the army and at a beach meets Savannah, a college student.

They begin a romance, but Savannah has another boyfriend, Tim, who has an autistic son, Alan.

Savannah is studying autism in college and wants to work with autistic children.

John's father, always referred to as Mr. Tyree, is a a coin collector. Mr. Tyree shows Savannah a Bryan Dollar.

Bryan dollars were campaign tokens issued by opponents of William Jennings Bryan, who ran for the US President in 1896. This token shows how large a US dollar coin would be if Bryan was elected, compared with a standard US silver dollar. John goes back to his army unit which is stationed overseas.

After the September 11 2001 attack, John reenlists in the army, and corresponds with Savannah using real letters. Savannah visits Mr. Tyree, and he shows her some coins.

A cull coin is one that a coin collector would not normally save, either too common or too worn or damaged.

As a child, John buys an ice cream cone and is given a special coin in change, a mule coin.

The prop coin used here is not an actual mule coin but was manufactured for the film. John's father takes the mule coin to two dealers to see how much it is worth.

The first dealer offers him $20 but the father knows it is worth several thousand dollars.

The second coin dealer is honest and shows the father a coin magazine.

The magazine cover shows the coin to be worth $4000, but the dealer suggests that he keep the coin as a family heirloom. Some of the dealer's other coins are shown, including a few British coins.

The British coins are from the last years of Queen Victoria and appear to be a half crown, a penny, and a florin.

John receives a letter from Savannah stating that she is going to marry Tim. This kind of letter is known as a "Dear John" letter, hence the title of the film. Later, John is sent home to see father who has had a stroke and is in a hospital. The father dies and John has to take care of the estate, including the coin collection.

These include packaged commemorative coins sold by the US Mint. Also there is a Coin Wallet 12-coin holder. John takes the collection to the second dealer to sell.

John sees the collection for the last time.

The collection includes coin folders and paper money. John keeps the mule coin that he received as a child and takes it back with him to the front. He carries it as a "lucky piece."

He flips the coin to make decisions. In Charleston, Savannah's husband Tim becomes ill and later dies. John comes home on leave and sees Savannah in a coffee shop.

Channing Tatum as John Tyree
Amanda Seyfried as Savannah Curtis
Richard Jenkins as Mr. Tyree
Henry Thomas as Tim (Savannah's husband)
R. Braeden Reed as Alan (Tim's son)
Director: Lasse Hallström
Writers: Jamie Linden (screenplay), Nicholas Sparks (novel)