# Tiling your floor with pennies. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 1, 2017, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085 "2017-03-01T04:38:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085/41 "2017-03-01T20:12:14Z")
The authorities are still too busy going after folks how clipped off the tags on their mattresses. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085/42 "2017-03-01T20:41:19Z")
A friend of mine did it - she glued them to tiles, then to the floor. Less time crawling, you can sit in front of the TV making tiles. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085/43 "2017-03-01T22:44:49Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Looks like something Donald Trump would do. Trump wouldn’t use pennies. Fake gold coins or some such. But yeah. Tacky. Definitely would hurt the price of a home when it comes time to sell. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085/44 "2017-03-01T22:52:59Z")
You damn sure better be fond of Abraham Lincoln. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085/45 "2017-03-01T23:09:53Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Hell, that’s the only way they’ll retain their copper-ness. Modern pennies have such a [thin layer of copper](http://www.livescience.com/32401-whats-a-penny-made-of.html) that the slightest amount of wear would turn all the coins zinc-grey. Can you imagine? All the traffic areas would be dreary grey-silver (zinc is not a particularly pretty metal). Think “galvanized sheet metal” grey. > Emphasis added As I understand it, there are still a lot of solid copper coins in circulation - UK pennies are really easy to sort by magnet (as the new ones are copper over steel) - and I think there’s a reliable method for the US zinc vs copper ones - if you wanted to use coins with their actual surfaces exposed. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085/46 "2017-03-01T23:36:40Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Kind of cheap looking. I’d use silver dollars, or at least quarters. Pshaw! $20 gold eagles ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085/47 "2017-03-02T00:11:21Z")
It’s a look that would pair well with a painting of dogs playing poker. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085/48 "2017-03-02T00:33:44Z")
I like it for a small powder room, with a smaller pattern,[like this one.](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3921/14860888698_c5e0584ff1_z.jpg) But for a larger room, just no. It’s too much. [I do like this sun pattern](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/97/f6/b5/97f6b58566159a9caa994d04204d2952.jpg), but I couldn’t live with that floor every day. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085/49 "2017-03-02T00:33:59Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Unless you’re going to use old copper cents, which would significantly increase the cost of the floor (are there any copper cents worth less than 20-30 cents now?) Pre-1982 cents which were 95% copper have a melt value of about 1.8 cents, or they would if it were legal to melt them. You can buy them in bulk on eBay for about 2 to 2.5 cents each, including shipping. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085/50 "2017-03-02T05:19:01Z")
There was a bar down the road from here with a bar top full of pennies under epoxy. Of the thousands, only 2 were “tails”. You had to spend a lot of time drinking there to find them. I knew them by heart, of course. 😉 > [@Guinastasia](#): > > Honestly? I think it looks tacky. Yep. > [@beowulff](#): > > Looks like something Donald Trump would do. But he would bronze them first. > [@TroutMan](#): > > It’s a look that would pair well with a painting of dogs playing poker. Penny Ante? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085/51 "2017-03-02T05:45:13Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > … > > There’s a car around here that someone’s cover in pennies. I can’t recall at the moment what model, maybe a K-car (?) That must’ve quadrupled the value of the car. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085/52 "2017-03-02T06:06:00Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Depends on how it’s laid. I would put down Quarter-inch backerboard. Just like they do for vinyl flooring. Backer board gives a smooth surface to tile or apply these pennies. > > To remove… > Set a circular saw to 1/4" depth. Use a multipurpose wood & metal saw blade. Cut out manageable size squares. Pry up and toss in trash. > > Then you could put down new finish flooring. Hardwood, Travertine or whatever. > > I’ve had to do this remodeling old houses. They might have 5 layers of old vinyl sheeting in the kitchen. We just cut it out and dropped in new plywood. On job sites, I’ve seen crews epoxy a floor beautifully and quickly… but I’ve also seen a few disasters that have held up the project. Since you’ve remodeled houses, I’m sure this project would look good. I just think of all the DIY disasters one sees online and can’t help but cringe at this idea for the average person. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085/53 "2017-03-02T12:01:47Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Kind of cheap looking. I’d use silver dollars, or at least quarters. Cheap? Let’s say that the floor needed 13,000 pennies. [That would cost 13 thousand dollars](https://www.buzzfeed.com/tanyachen/hmmmmmmmmm?utm_term=.uyx6JjBj3#.ubdQX313W)! ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085/54 "2017-03-04T04:03:50Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Misread the thread title, but I’m not saying as what. Umm, Tilting your floor with penises is what i first thought i saw, and i though what on earth [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiling-your-floor-with-pennies/781085.md?page=2)