# Musings Upon A Penny **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 24, 2001, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136 "2001-04-24T14:09:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/1 "2001-04-24T14:09:04Z")
I was standing outside of my office, having a cigarette, and playing around with the change in my pocket. (I’m a fidgety Italian; therefore, I _must_ be doing something with my hands at all times.) I pulled out one of the pennies I had gotten in change at some point, and realized that it was a newly minted 2001 penny. And how amazing a thing it is. I thought about how little people expected any such thing to ever exist. We had been told in our optimistic science fiction that we would be using ‘credits’ based entirely upon electronic data. We had been told in our pessimistic science fiction that we would be using ‘nuyen’. We had been told by economic doom-sayers that inflation would mean eliminating the smaller elements of coinage- certainly the penny, possibly the nickel. We had been told of societal doom-sayers that the chance of civilization surviving past the turn of the century was nearly impossible. Yet there I stood, holding a penny. A newly minted 2001 penny. If you should chance upon a new penny, stop and look at it. Marvel at the minature bas-relief you hold in your hand. Unworn, the details upon the picture are amazing. One can see the weary bags under Lincoln’s eyes from the stress of the Civil War. The lines upon his faces, the wrinkles upon his jacket, even the buttonhole upon his lapel- small details that make this a piece of art, art destined to be eroded and worn until he is a silhouette, a shade of history upon a tarnished piece of copper. But new- one can count the steps on the Memorial on the reverse. Of course, you can’t buy a damned thing with it. Hell, you need two of them to even put your opinion in. But there it is, still existant. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/2 "2001-04-24T14:15:54Z")
Are you sure you were smoking a regular cigarette? ---
**Author:** ![hockeynut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@hockeynut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hockeynut)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/3 "2001-04-24T14:53:01Z")
As long as we have sales tax, there will still be a need for the otherwise worthless penny. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/4 "2001-04-24T14:55:12Z")
Well, don’t forget that you can always squish it into fun-filled shapes at almost any amusement park. Go squished pennies Go! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/5 "2001-04-24T15:22:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Corrado \* > \*\*I thought about how little people expected any such thing to ever exist. We had been told in our optimistic science fiction that we would be using ‘credits’ based entirely upon electronic data. We had been told in our pessimistic science fiction that we would be using ‘nuyen’. We had been told by economic doom-sayers that inflation would mean eliminating the smaller elements of coinage- certainly the penny, possibly the nickel. We had been told of societal doom-sayers that the chance of civilization surviving past the turn of the century was nearly impossible. > > Yet there I stood, holding a penny. A newly minted 2001 penny.\*\* I refer you to G.K. Chesterton on the matter: > [@](#): > > The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children’s games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the end, which is a nuisance for the few people who grow up. And one of the games which it is most attached is called, “Keep tomorrow dark,” and which is also named (by the rustics in Shropshire, I have no doubt) “Cheat the Prophet.” The players listen very carefully and respectfully to all that the clever men have to say about what is to happen in the next generation. The players then wait until all the clever men are dead, and bury them nicely. Then they go and do something else. That is all. For a race of simple tastes, however, it is great fun. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/6 "2001-04-24T15:35:20Z")
I wonder if math grad students in LeConte Hall at USC (that’s South Carolina, btw) still roll pennies down that long corridor. We used to compete to see who could roll them the furthest. I still roll them down long aisles in Wal-Mart Superstores and similar places. Seems to be a penny’s highest and best use, these days. Also annoys the hell out of my wife, for bonus points. 🙂 Even with sales tax, there seems to be little point in keeping the little buggers around: stores could include pennies in posted prices, but round the result of any _cash_ transaction to the nearest nickle, while charging exactly when checks and credit cards are used. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/7 "2001-04-24T15:44:04Z")
You’re Italian?? Posso essere nell’ amore! > [@](#): > > I thought about how little people expected any such thing to ever exist. You wouldn’t say that if you had kids who collected the damned things! I got hundreds, possibly thousands. ---
**Author:** ![Winnowill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4491bb/32.png) [@Winnowill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnowill)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/8 "2001-04-24T17:17:35Z")
Thousands of pennies? You’ll be rich! They’re worth… oh, wait. They’re worth about $20. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Skelji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Skelji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skelji)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/9 "2001-04-24T17:33:55Z")
Since we’re on the topic… [http://www.pennypage.com/about\_pennies.htm](http://www.pennypage.com/about_pennies.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2001, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/10 "2001-04-25T02:57:57Z")
According to legend, the cast was changed to make Lincoln’s beard and hair shorter after 1968. I checked it out once, and it seemed to be so, but pre-1968 pennies don’t get around much in 2K1. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Friend\_of\_the\_Devil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@A\_Friend\_of\_the\_Devil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Friend_of_the_Devil)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2001, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/11 "2001-04-25T03:28:38Z")
Other musings… I really have a fondness for coins of the past, too. The Buffalo Nickel, the Mercury Dime, the Liberty Quarter… I wish some of these would come back. We’ve settled down to prosaic images of presidents and their homes, when our coinage used to be so much more artistic. A parallel, maybe - as the century progressed did we settle down and unconsciously translate our mechanical, technological, utilitarian world into an equivalent form of exchange for goods and services? Why is it that our most revered Presidents are on the lowest denominations of coins (and currency)? Lincoln on the penny (and $5), Washington on the quarter (and $1), Jefferson on the nickel (and $2)? People occasionally still talk about a cashless society. It’ll never happen. As long as bribes need to be made, bets paid off, and people paid with non-taxed money, there will always be a need for real tender. ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2001, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/12 "2001-04-25T03:35:25Z")
For “extra” penny fun when you have no squashing machines available. Take a penny minted after 1982 and put a few scratches on one side. Place in a small bowl filled with vinegar for a week or two. The vinegar will dissolve the zinc core and leave only the copper plating. You have a hollow, and extremely fragile penny. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2001, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/13 "2001-04-25T03:40:16Z")
Really? It’ll do that? Cooool. I think I’ve found the next at home science experiment #237. Thanks, **Whammo**. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2001, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/14 "2001-04-25T04:43:12Z")
I can remember getting Indian head pennines, silver dimes and quarters in over the counter change. That minting series was some of the most beautiful coinage to pass through the hands of a living being. How many pennies fit in a five gallon water bottle? I on my way to filling a second one. ---
**Author:** ![Lux\_Fiat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lux\_Fiat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lux_Fiat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2001, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/15 "2001-04-25T07:40:23Z")
Pennies, hell. I want my flying car. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2001, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/16 "2001-04-25T11:11:56Z")
I love pennies. a couple of years ago I took a 100 dollar bill to the bank and brought back 10,000 pennies. Opened them all up and dumped them on the bed. Made a huge pile, weighed a ton and smelled like copper. Spent the next few days going through them 1 by 1. Filled all the holes in my penny book from 1959 to present. Also found 9 wheatbacks and a penny from Bermuda, wierd. Spent the next three years with a pocketfull of pennies and everytime I bought something I used 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 pennies so that I wouldn’t get any back. I finished late last summer. I miss them… ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2001, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/17 "2001-04-25T13:24:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by A Friend of the Devil \* > \*\*Other musings… > Why is it that our most revered Presidents are on the lowest denominations of coins (and currency)? Lincoln on the penny (and $5), Washington on the quarter (and $1), Jefferson on the nickel (and $2)? > \*\* ``` I think because they're the most circulated. Most people see more $1 bills than $100s. It's a smaller denomination, but more exposure. ``` ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2001, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/18 "2001-04-25T13:28:03Z")
**brother rat** , the temptation to dive into that pile of pennies like some low-rent Scrooge McDuck would have been overwhelming. **Arden** : Well, I’m of Italian _descent_. Non conosco che cosa state dicendo; non posso parlare italiano. (Grazie, pesci de Babele.) **Coldfire** : Nope, wasn’t a ‘special’ cigarette. I’m just naturally like that. ---
**Author:** ![TheNerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TheNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheNerd)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2001, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/19 "2001-04-25T13:45:42Z")
I haven’t much liked pennies since seeing the Upright Citizen’s Brigade’s “Ass-penny” sketch. Of course, I do like [http://www.penny-arcade.com](http://www.penny-arcade.com) ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2001, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136/20 "2001-04-25T18:27:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Corrado \* > **brother rat** , the temptation to dive into that pile of pennies like some low-rent Scrooge McDuck would have been overwhelming. Maybe if I was of the Tattoo variety, but having more in common with Michael Jordan all I was able to do was dive in with my hands, grab a whole handfull and let them drop. My hands smelled like pennies for months. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-upon-a-penny/63136.md?page=2)