You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

[Lee Stewart]

In 1909, when Lincoln became the face of the penny, it marked the first time a real human — as opposed to someone fictitious or an animal — appeared on regular-issued coinage. Further, despite being the 16th president of the country, Lincoln was the first president to be on a coin.

[Lee Stewart]

Lincoln isn’t the only big name tied to the coin. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, who is associated with the famous phrase, “A penny saved is a penny earned,” designed one of the earliest U.S. pennies, called the Fugio cent. The association between pennies and Franklin is so strong that visitors to his grave in Philadelphia often leave pennies there for good luck.

[Lee Stewart]

From 1959 to 2007, both sides of the penny featured Lincoln. On the front of the design is his bust, and on the back, his tiny figure can be seen within the Lincoln Memorial.

[Lee Stewart]

The penny has undergone several design changes over the years, with four being used in 2009 alone. The four designs highlighted important phases of Lincoln’s life: his birth and early childhood in Kentucky, youth in Indiana, a career in Illinois and, finally, the presidency in Washington, D.C.

[Lee Stewart]

The reason the penny featured four different designs in 2009 was to commemorate two very special occasions. That year was the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birthday, as well as the 100th anniversary of his appearance on the 1-cent coin.

[Lee Stewart]

In 2010, a new design was introduced on the back of the penny: the Union shield. The shield has been used on many medals and currency over the years, including the 2- and 5-cent coins. However, this time it was used to commemorate Lincoln’s preservation of the U.S. as a single country.

[Lee Stewart]

The term “penny-pinching” was not — pardon the pun — coined by Americans. It was first used in Tomas Dekker’s play, “Shoemaker’s Holiday” in 1600, and it was around long before America was officially founded. The phrase didn’t catch on in the U.S. until the 20th century, more than 100 years after the penny was introduced to Americans.

[Lee Stewart]

Before the pennies we know today, there were “white cents.” Their metal composition made them white in appearance. The coins were 88 parts copper and 12 parts nickel.

[Lee Stewart]

In 1943, copper was needed for war materials, so pennies needed to be made out of a new metallic element. The U.S. decided to make them out of zinc-coated steel instead. Since the color was silvery, the coins were often confused with dimes.

[Lee Stewart]

Some might not realize that Paul Revere was a silversmith. In fact, he had his own metals company that once supplied the U.S. Mint with rolled copper to make 1-cent coins.