Millarville, Alberta
Heads or Tails? You call it…
Sorry, it was a trick question. The Penny I tossed doesn’t have either.
I was rummaging through my coin collection looking for a Penny to give to my son-in-law (more about that later), and I came across a coin I forgot I owned. I don’t remember where or when I got it, but this flawed coin showed up in my change many years ago.
The Penny has neither a Head nor a Tail, a rare minting error that gives the coin some value.
I said I have a Coin Collection, but that is a bit of a stretch. What I have is a box that I throw old, foreign, and unusual coins in. The box filled up over the years, but I rarely look at it.
That all changed when I mentioned to a friend that I was giving a knife to my son-in-law for Christmas. Gervais pointed out that I must enclose a penny with the knife, which Taylor is obliged to give back to me as “payment” for the gift. The tradition goes that a knife given can cut a friendship, but a knife purchased is safe. The bond of friendship will not be broken if the recipient pays for the knife.
I was not aware of the tradition, but I value Taylor’s friendship, so I went looking for a penny.
I have been thinking about Pennies ever since. I know, I need to get a life, but Penny Folklore is truly fascinating.
Here are a few examples….
A Penny Drop is what happens when a thought sinks in. The idiom comes from the sound a coin makes when it drops into the empty cash box of a vending machine, signaling that the transaction is complete.
Penny Pinching. My grandparents could stretch a penny farther than anyone. When they drove to our place for a visit, they always chose a day when the wind was from the west so their car would get better gas mileage on their easterly trek. When it was time to go home, Grandpa and Grandma would leave early, before the prevailing westerly Saskatchewan winds started blowing.
Seasoned Penny Pinchers.
A Penny Saved is actually more than a Penny Earned. If you earn a penny, you pay tax on it, if you save a penny, it is all yours.
Penny for your thoughts, and yet for some, the price is still too high.
Pennies are used to describe various conflicting financial circumstances. If it costs a Pretty Penny, it is Expensive, but Ten a Penny is Cheap. Worst case scenario, Not a Penny is Bankrupt.
You can buy Penny Stocks, or attend a Penny Carnival, with very little cash.
Pennies, sometimes called ‘Coppers’, aren’t made of copper, they are mostly zinc.
Placing a Penny on a military grave is a sign of respect, and a visible reminder of visitation.
The Beatles song Penny Lane has nothing to do with coins. Penny Lane is a street near the Liverpool Train Terminal named after an 18th century slave trader, James Penny. I doubt the Fab Four knew that.
“Penny Lane, the barber shaves another customer,
We see the banker sitting waiting for a trim’
And then, the fireman rushes in from the pouring rain,
Very strange”
Throwing a penny away is a good thing. Toss a penny overboard while traveling by boat, you will reach your destination safely. Throw a penny in a fountain and your wish will come true. Store pennies in a jar in the kitchen and never spend them, assures good luck.
Conversely, Finding a Penny also brings good fortune.
“Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck.”
But it matters whether the penny found is Heads, or Tails. Finding a Heads-up coin is good luck, but a penny with the Tails side up can mean the opposite.
If you find a Canadian penny with the maple leaves showing, you should flip it over and leave it for the next person who finds it.
Tails side of the last Canadian penny, minted in 2012.
If you find a penny that looks like the one below, pick it up no matter which side is showing. A very rare, 1792 American “Birch Cent” recently sold at auction for US$2.5 million dollars!
Artist William Russell Birch designed the coin, but for reasons unknown only about 12 individual coins were struck before the design was scrapped.
The extreme rarity of the penny, and the fact that it is one of the first post-revolution coins minted in America, makes the Birch Cent highly collectible.
It costs a nickel to mint a penny in the USA. I’m not an economist, but that seems ridiculous. They are only 15 years late, but the US Treasury stopped making the penny in November this year.
To Spend a Penny means go to the toilet. In Victorian times a penny was needed to unlock a toilet door.
The Queen’s bra strap is missing on one of the most collectible Canadian pennies. The 1955 No Shoulder Fold Penny has a subtle flaw that makes it worth as much as $3,000, in good condition.
I haven’t looked through my coin box yet to determine if I have a bra-less Queen coin.
When Leo comes for Christmas, I will delegate the task to him. If he finds one, it will be his to keep.
Leo might not find a Shoulder Fold Penny, but what he will find in the box is another coin of some value. Again, I don’t remember where I got it, but I have a dime with a tail but no head.
My Headless Dime has been sitting in a dark dusty place for far too long. Leo might as well have it.
The Irish have a tradition where merchants return a penny to customers who have purchased goods from them. “Luck Money” ensures that the goods purchased will be useful for a long time.
A Bad Penny is something, or somebody, who turns up unexpectedly or uninvited. The idiom originates from counterfeit coins that repeatedly make their way back into circulation.
Finding Pennies is sometimes seen as a message or presence from angels or deceased loved ones, a form of after-death communication.
Pennies from Heaven really don’t count as a windfall anymore. It is time the Big Guy in the Sky adjusted for inflation, Manna from Heaven, maybe, but I don’t know what manna is worth these days.
Brides are encouraged to stuff a Penny in their shoe to ensure a lasting marriage … “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a penny in the shoe.”
Penny Loafers have a slot in the tongue for a Lucky Penny. Elvis wore Penny Loafers and he was lucky, for quite a while.
It could have been the drugs that changed Elvis’ luck, or maybe his Pennies just fell out.
Pennies are deeply rooted in our traditions and superstition. Respect for the coin dates back to ancient times. People believed that metal was a gift from the gods, symbolizing good luck and fortune. Over time, this belief evolved into rituals that hold meaning today. Pennies are the most common coin used in this symbolism.
Enough about Pennies, I will close with quotes from two great American Philosophers – “Hank Williams” and “Unknown”
These shabby shoes I’m wearing all the time
Is full of holes and nails
And brother if I stepped on a worn-out dime
I bet a nickel I could tell you if it was …
… Heads or Tails.
“One Penny may seem to you a very insignificant thing, but it is the small seed from which fortunes spring. – Unknown
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