Among the things that the current "wood chipper" administration is eliminating, is the penny. That's right, the shiny copper-colored 1 cent coin will be no more. Its lowly amount has no place in our lives any longer and the Emperor, despite wearing no clothes, has called for its elimination.
True, it has become mostly an irritation to most folks, but the U.S. penny one has many uses and was often a welcome addition to our pockets, change purses, and glass coin saving jars. On occasion, people were paid solely in pennies if the person doing the paying wanted to make a statement to the recipient of the debt. That might not be possible for too much longer. But the fact that millions of pennies lurk in the corners of our homes and inside couch cushions and coin banks, their need may one day emerge.
When it costs 3 cents to make 1 cent, the logic of continuing to mint pennies seems ridiculous. Hence, the penny's demise.
But the penny once had so many uses. There was a time when city parking meters took penny's. As a child, I recall the distance sound of placing a penny the slot of those meters. Each cent bought about 5 minutes. A handful of pennies was all that was needed for a day of errand running. Today a nickel buys a minute, a dime two, and a Quarter buys 5 or six minutes. Feeding a parking meter is upwards of $5. for a day of shopping or running around. A penny could once send a letter, then a postcard. We know how often "forever" postage rates change now. Hard to believe there once was a 1/2 cent stamp. That went by the wayside sometime in the 1950s. Two or three of those could send a postcard. But who sends postcards in the age of cell phones?
In childhood, the penny once was the coin of choice for buying candy and starting a coin collection. Like many of my peers I had those little blue penny collection books. It was very cool to heck my change and find a penny dated 1906 or perhaps one from the Great Depression dated 1932. Then there were those dark, almost black steel looking pennies from WWII dated 1942-45 or so. Indian head pennies were also a real find and actually did show up in your change once in a while.
When I first started teaching I taught a number of 9th grade World History classes. There was one particular lesson on primary sources that depended on the penny. Kids would take their seats and find a penny on their desk. It was necessary to tell them not to disturb the penny before they had a chance to pocket it or throw it at someone or something. Usually they still had it with them when class began. What followed was a worksheet with a blank space and a set of questions.
"This coin on your desk is all that remains of a once prosperous civilization," I'd announce. In the space provided, students would first draw both sides of the coin. Usually it had Lincoln's head on one side and the Lincoln Memorial on the other. They'd account for all the words and numbers on either side too. The questions involved making hypotheses about what could be learned about the civilization from just one coin. Things like they wore beards, and built large stone buildings were discovered. The numbers and words led to theories about language and time.
For a squirrelly class of ninth graders this was always a successful lesson that cost no more than37 cents.
There is one memory of pennies that still hurts. It was tied to blind antisemitism during my Junior High years. Kids would throw pennies at those suspected of "being a Jew." This learned stereotype was practiced by those vulnerable to hate and ignorance. One time, after witnessing such behavior, I even heard one kid say to another, "Do you know why Jews have such big noses? It' where they put all the pennies."
Ha Ha, Motherfucker. A penny for my thoughts?
Nobody is going to miss the penny. Its value has disappeared. It is now obsolete. But its history as a symbol of a simpler time will long remain. It speaks volumes about the civilization that created it.
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