Lucky Penny Day

Posted on May 23, 2016

Usually, we would encourage you to keep your head held high, but today is an exception. In light of National Lucky Penny Day, you should keep your head tilted down toward the ground to see how many lucky heads up pennies you can find! And in honor of this fun holiday, here are four things you may not know about the penny:

1. Abraham Lincoln was engraved on the penny in 1909 to commemorate his 100th birthday and was the first American coin to feature an actual person (as opposed to personifications of ‘liberty’ appearing on earlier designs). The Lincoln penny was introduced by Teddy Roosevelt.
2. Fifty years later, the Lincoln Memorial was added to the reverse side of the penny, complete with a tiny representation of the statue within.
3. Today’s pennies cost more to make than they are worth. Due to the rising prices of copper over the years, it costs about 1.8 cents to produce each penny.
4. In 2009, to honor the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, four penny designs depicting different aspects of the 16th President's life were circulated. You’d be extra lucky to find one of these heads up!

And don’t forget, “See a penny, pick it up….all day long you’ll have good luck! Give it to a faithful friend, then your luck will never end!” You may be surprised at how many lucky pennies you find when you're actively looking.