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Penny Trivia
- Paula Green
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
By Paula Green
The penny, a small copper coin with a significant place in history, recently made headlines when the Philadelphia Mint struck the final one on November 12. To honor its legacy, let’s explore some fascinating facts about its past.
The United States has produced the penny for 232 years. The Mint, established in 1792, began making pennies as one of its first coins in 1793. The original penny was much larger and was made of pure copper. Today, the penny measures 0.75 inches in diameter, 0.0598 inches thick, and is made of 97.5 percent zinc with copper plating.
Benjamin Franklin is often attributed with the phrase, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” He is also credited with designing an early U.S. coin, the Fugio cent, in 1787. This coin displayed a sun and sundial and carried the motto, “Mind Your Business.” A chain of 13 links representing the original colonies surrounds the words “We Are One” on the reverse.
Thanks to Franklin’s tie-in with the penny, folks still pay tribute to him. Visitors to the Founding Fathers’ grave in Philadelphia traditionally leave one-cent pieces as a sign of good luck.
In 1909, Teddy Roosevelt introduced the Lincoln cent to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the 16th U.S. president’s birth. Fifty years later, the Lincoln Memorial was added to the penny’s reverse. A new design was released in 2010 that featured a Union Shield. It represents the unity of the nation that President Lincoln fought to preserve during the Civil War.
During World War II, the U.S. Mint cast zinc-coated steel pennies because copper was needed for the manufacturing of weapons. The coins were called “steelies” and caused confusion since they looked like dimes. These coins also rusted and deteriorated quickly.
In the 1980s, U.S. military bases overseas eliminated the penny and began rounding all transactions to the nearest five cents. Over time, the penny’s purchasing power declined compared to its production cost. In 2024, the U.S. Mint stated that producing and distributing each penny costs 3.69 cents, resulting in a reported loss of around $85.3 million.
According to the Treasury Department, the penny "remains legal tender and will retain its value indefinitely." Today, over 300 billion pennies remain in circulation.
Since we have focused our attention on the penny, we must now try to make “cents” out of this copper-coin query. Remember a “Penny for your thoughts,” because it’s time to get a little trivial.
1. This actress starred in the television show Laverne & Shirley.
2. Name the coin-themed tune released by The Beatles.
3. On the TV show Lost in Space, actress Angela Cartwright portrays a character named
Penny, what was her last name?
4. Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters starred in this 1981 drama set during the Great
Depression.
5. There’s a famous saying, “Find a penny and pick it up, and all that day you’ll have ?
6. Name the male singer-songwriter who released the song “Penny Lover.”
7. This film, which stars Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, incorporates a 1979 U.S.
Lincoln cent as part of the story.
8. Which Men in Black actor said, “Whatever your dream is, every extra penny you have
needs to go to that.”
9. This member of The Traveling Wilburys sings the tune “Penny Arcade.”
10. Name the 1920-30s gangster who said, “Be careful who you call friends. I’d rather have four quarters than one hundred pennies.”
11. If ____were pennies and heartaches were gold, I'd have all the treasures my pockets would hold.
12. Darcy Rose Byrnes portrayed the character Penny Shavo in this ABC television drama.
13. Name the British stateswoman, Prime Minister, who said, “Pennies do not come from
heaven. They have to be earned here on earth.”
14. The character Penelope "Penny" Hofstadter appears in this CBS sitcom.
15. This one-cent coin was produced by the U.S. Mint from 1859 to 1909.
Answers: 1. Penny Marshall 2. Penny Lane 3. Robinson 4. Pennies from Heaven 5. good luck 6. Lionel Richie 7. Somewhere in Time 8. Will Smith 9. Roy Orbison 10. Al Capone 11. teardrops 12. Desperate Housewives 13. Margaret Thatcher 14. The Big Bang Theory 15. Indian Head penny