On this date (Aug 2)

On this date (Aug 2), in 1909, the first Lincoln head pennies were minted. 1909 was the centennial of Lincoln’s birth, and his profile on the penny was a memorial to The Great Emancipator.

Officially called the “cent” by the US Mint, or the “one cent piece” by the US Treasury (the term penny is a holdover from the British coin), the penny has been a part of US currency in one form or another since 1793. Over the years, it’s had a number of different designs, had a number of different metal compositions, and been worth less and less every year.

In fact, as of this year, a cent costs the US Mint 2.41 cents to make, so you might say the penny is worth less than nothing. In 2011 alone, the loss was $60.2 million.

Yes, you read that right… in an era when the economy is the biggest non-chicken-sandwich-or-Kardashian-related story, we spent more than sixty million dollars to keep making pennies. In contrast, it costs 5.5 cents to print the $1 and $2 bills. Now there’s a profit I can get behind!

Aside from the loss of money the penny represents, I think what bugs me most is the impact the drastic reduction of the penny’s value has on our cultural metaphors.

Now, when you offer me a penny for my thoughts, what you’re really saying is that I owe you 1.41¢, just for thinking! When I offer you my 2¢, I’m really asking you to pay me 2.82¢ just to hear my opinion! The old proverb a penny saved is a penny earned should really be a penny saved is 1.41¢ in debt!

What would Dave Ramsey say??

So, happy 103rd birthday, Lincoln penny. And remember another famous proverb:

See a penny, pick it up, and all day long you’ll have a negative 1.41¢!