Question about pennies for luck – most people know the rhyme
See a penny, pick it up
All the day you’ll have good luck
Some people know an ominous second couplet (my favorite was “See a penny, let it lie / In a car crash you will die”). I’m trying to write a paper on the way people customize this belief: heads-up only, is it cheating to turn them over, do dimes count, do you wish on it, do you keep the penny / have to pass it on, stuff like that. What do people do?
If you want to discuss but DON’T want to be cited as an example of Folk and Their Lore, please include a “don’t cite me please” in the post.
I’ll put my own beliefs / customs in the next post, to keep this from being off-puttingly long.
My own beliefs, which have evolved gradually over the years:
If a penny is lucky, a dime is ten times as lucky.
Leaving a penny invites bad luck.
Tails-up are okay (I didn’t learn this one until I was in junior high, and it was trumped by the fear of leaving it)
If you find money in a store or somewhere where it’s not really yours, moving it slightly counts as picking it up.
You must wish on the money before pocketing it, and keep it separate from other money for at least 24 hours.
Coins spotted in traffic or other dangerous places don’t count. Fountains are off limits.
That said, I don’t really believe in this very deeply; it’s more habit than anything else. I’ve only over-analyzed it because I over-analyze everything.