The penny’s last spin
“Find a penny, pick it up, and all day long you will have good luck.” Unless, of course, you find one jammed inside your washing machine. There is nothing lucky about that.
I recently discovered a 2019 penny — or what was left of one — wedged deep in a crevice of our washing machine tub. Armed with a pair of needle-nose pliers and the concentration of a heart surgeon, I carefully worked it loose. It felt like playing the old game “Operation,” except there was no buzzer, and, thankfully, no electric shock. The washer survived. So did I.
What fascinated me most was not that the penny nearly took out an expensive appliance. It was what the washer had done to the coin itself.
Like many people, I knew pennies had not been made entirely of copper for years, but I never paid much attention to when that changed. The washing machine, however, conducted its own scientific experiment. After countless spins, the thin copper coating had been scrubbed away from Honest Abe, revealing the dull zinc core hiding underneath. So much for the “copper penny.”
The U.S. Mint switched to zinc pennies coated with copper in 1982, ending generations of mostly copper cents. That makes 1982 one of those quirky years for coin collectors because pennies from that year can be either mostly copper or mostly zinc. During World War II, pennies were even made from steel so copper could be reserved for the war effort.
And now the penny has reached another milestone. This year, the U.S. Mint stopped producing new pennies altogether after years of debate over whether it made sense to spend more than a penny to manufacture a one-cent coin. Existing pennies will remain legal tender, but no new ones are rolling off the presses.
That means the penny I rescued from the washing machine may someday be remembered as a relic from a bygone era, even if it looks like it lost a fight with a cheese grater.
If you are wondering if those old copper pennies are worth more than a cent, the answer is yes. Their copper content alone is worth more than one cent, although melting them down for profit is prohibited. They also weigh more than today’s zinc versions, tipping the scales at about 3.1 grams compared with 2.5 grams.
Most of this information probably is not worth two cents to you. But the next time you hear a penny rattling around in your pocket, treat it with a little respect. It may be the last generation of a coin that jingled through our childhoods, hid beneath couch cushions and, in my case, nearly brought laundry day to a screeching halt.
Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital newsletter
shane@gctimesnews.com
Shane Goodman is also the President and Publisher of the Big Green Umbrella Media and of the monthly Cityview magazine. Here is his LinkedIn page.
Reprinted with permission.
My husband and I have been married 54 years. One of the few things we had in common when we and to this day was that we both had penny collection. I am saddened to see the penny era end.
Debra, thanks for your note. My husband also has a penny collection.
Thank you, Joy – and Shane! This was a lovely reminder this afternoon of my dad, Sonny. He collected pennies and we still have a couple of his enormous “penny jars” around the house. I can’t say why, exactly, but he was fascinated by them. 💝💝💝
What fun! Thanks, Vicki!
Xo! 😘
Great story, Joy. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, John!
So, pennies are still legal tender?
Guy says he gets them in change once in a while. . .
I can’t remember the last time I bought something with cash!
Out son and his wife don’t either, but we still do.
Hey “a penny saved is a penny earned.” Who knows?Maybe the penny was wedged enough preventing bigger washer problems? It would then definitely be “penny-wise and pound-foolish.” Oh what will we do with penny idioms with no more pennies.
Brian, you’ll have to make some up!
I haven’t carried pennies in a long time. As a kid though I loved the penny pitch at our local firemen’s festival. I won a couple of Pepsi and 7-up glasses. Oh those were the days! Pennies from Heaven!
Oh, I hope you write a blog post about it, Brian! Thanks for the fun.
I’ll have to think about that. It’s kind of ironic — there were two festivals that we went to in the summer like clockwork. The one was always held the first weekend in August. I have to check but I’m pretty sure it’s still being held. Would’ve started Thursday night and run both Friday and Saturday nights. Oh life in a small town.
My Favorite Guy’s school reunion is always the first Friday and Saturday in August, so not until next weekend. His brother (14 years younger) comes back from Indiana for it so he can drive an old family tractor in the parade on Saturday. (There’s also tractor pulls!)
The final Lincoln cents are issued for the semiquincentenial. Dual-dated 1776-2026, available with a nickel, a new design dime, 5 special quarters, and a half dollar. All are one year designs, only. When I was 8 or 9, I started collecting the 1943 zinc cents (I called them “lead pennys”). When in Dexter, I would go up and down Marshall Street asking each merchant if they had any in their till. By the end of the first summer, everybody knew why I was stopping by. I still have a pint jar 2/3 full, but I have since invested in some nice graded coins from the 3 mints that made them. My coin collecting has become much more “sophisticated” over the decades.
Bob, I learn more stuff about you all the time! What fun!
A penny was like gold to me when I was a little, little kid. I once had a quarter and went into a small store, plopped the quarter on the counter and asked the lady to give me 25 pennies. She giggled as she watched me put each penny, one at a time, into a penny bubble gum machine buying 25 1cent bubble gum balls. Memories! Thanks for these.
What a fun story, G.W. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Thanks for a fun read!
Isn’t it though? Thank you, Gail.
I used to collect pennies. it makes me a bit sad that it’s likely we won’t see them around much longer. One of the more memorable years was 1943 when copper was needed for military bullets and shell casings during World War II, so steel pennies (low grade steel covered with a zinc coating) were made.
Did you get rid of your pennies, Pete? Cousin Bob Scar replied on here that he used to collect those 1943 pennies as a kid, asking merchants if they had any. He’s 81 and still has “a pint jar 2/3 full.” (He was the Marine pilot during Vietnam and retired as a captain from Delta Airlines, telling stories from his childhood I’d never heard before!)
I very rarely pay for anything with cash these days, Joy, a huge difference from my past. I remember when pennies were no longer made of pure copper, but don’t recall hearing they would no longer be made for circulation.
Tim, I guess it costs too much to make a penny anymore. https://home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/penny-production-cessation-faqs
I guess so, Joy.