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Jagular

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

The American Penny

Karinaxoxo asked:do they have 1c still in america?? - our lowest cent is a 5c peice.

Yes, Karina, They do. The American 1c piece, called the penny, valued at 1c.


Many Americans claim to hate them. You can usually find several of them lying the the parking lot when you go to the store. And in the early 1980's, the value of copper finally exceeded the value of the penny, so the US government made a statement of intent to cease making them. They reasoned that the value was just too small, everyone hates them, and they cost too much to mint.
And the backlash was immediate, incontrovertible, and without question quite American.
It seems that everyone also loves the penny. It is the symbol of the underdog. It represents the value inherent in everything. It defines hope.
Any poor person can gather pennies in the parking lots enough to buy a loaf of bread. Any child can still gather his parents' pennies together and make a pirate fortune.
And in the end, Benjamin Franklin saved the day.
It seems that several American proverbs about the penny originate with him.
"A penny saved is a penny earned."
"Watch your pennies and your dollars with take care of themselves."
So the decision was made to continue minting the penny, but zinc was added to the mix.



Occasionally there is another popular movement to get rid of the pennies.
But that is such an UnAmerican thing to do.

6 Comments:

At November 15, 2006 11:43 PM, Blogger TTQ said...

We have change stashes, we figure between the two of us we put at least a dollar per day everyday in each one. Alot of time much more. It was in my bank that said my savings for a day at the spa, but I do that anyways, no we have fun guessing how much is in there, rolling it, counting it and transferring it to a shoebox..We are both addicted to adding change to it, as it grows so does the extravagance of what we are going to do with it. Those pennies do add up and they don't show up on a statement so you don't get the urge to blow at once, it takes planning and hard work!

 
At November 15, 2006 11:49 PM, Blogger TTQ said...

Race of the Century

 
At November 16, 2006 12:10 AM, Blogger jagular said...

TTQ: that race of the century site is pretty cool. I think I could join them sometimes, with all the change I find.

 
At November 16, 2006 2:22 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

wow thats cool - thanks for that!!!
if somethine is say $9.90 - 9.93 we pay $9.90. If its $9.94 -9.97 we pay $9.95 and if its $9.98 - $10.00 we just pay $10.00.
So when i get petrol i always put in say $30.03 so I still only pay $30- haha

 
At November 16, 2006 3:45 PM, Blogger TTQ said...

I could play this without leaving the house!

 
At November 17, 2006 5:16 PM, Blogger TTQ said...

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116360150549923901-

 

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