Everyone Is Entitled To My Opinion – On Pennies

Dear Friends,

        “Allow me to give my two cents worth.” How many times has someone said that during a conversation as a way of injecting their opinion into a discussion? You may also have heard “A penny for your thoughts.” Why exactly are my thoughts worth only half of yours? Let us take a look at this popular coin; the penny was the first currency authorized by the United States from the Mint Act of 1792 signed by George Washington. The design for the first one cent coin was suggested by Benjamin Franklin (1787) was known as Fugio Cent, it bore the image of the sun and a sundial above the message “Mind Your Business” the other side of the coin bore a chain with thirteen links each representing one of the original colonies and encircled the motto “We Are One”. Ben Franklin is also credited with the phrase “A penny saved is a penny earned.” To this day people visiting his grave leave a penny behind for luck. The first “Penny” coin was pure copper, the size of today’s half dollar, and bore a woman’s head with flowing hair representing Liberty, the year was 1793. The original term for the coin was “One cent piece” but Americans continued to use the British term penny out of habit. In 1909 Theodore Roosevelt introduced the Lincoln cent to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the 16^th U.S. President’s birth; it was the first coin to bear the image of an actual person.

        Quite a history for a coin, do you remember buying “Penny candy” pitching pennies, penny loafers, or penny post cards and postage stamps? Yes the penny has been a very busy coin, parking meters once required a penny, or you could weigh yourself for a penny. I remember the year after the infamous razor in the apple Halloween we went Trick or Treating and people gave us pennies in lieu of candy and apples. Perhaps you even dabbled in numismatics when someone (a grandparent?) gave you your first coin collecting book. Did you check every penny you could get your hands on to fill all the years? Yes the versatile penny has quite a history. Chances are the closest you came to a valuable penny was a few wheat pennies that might be worth two cents. Today pennies are relegated to jars to be taken to the bank as soon as you are able to fill the jar. Do you or did you ever carry a “lucky penny” in your pocket? Maybe you knew or even dated a girl named Penny; I have a friend who tells everyone he “married his lucky Penny from Heaven”