{"id":530,"date":"2012-08-02T11:01:44","date_gmt":"2012-08-02T17:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mikeycunningham.com\/blog\/?p=530"},"modified":"2012-08-02T11:01:44","modified_gmt":"2012-08-02T17:01:44","slug":"on-this-date-aug-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mikeycunningham.com\/blog\/2012\/08\/on-this-date-aug-2\/","title":{"rendered":"On this date (Aug 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Officially called the “cent” by the US Mint, or the “one cent piece” by the US Treasury (the term penny<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong> to keep making pennies. In contrast, it costs 5.5 cents to print the $1 and $2 bills. Now there’s<\/em> a profit I can get behind!<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Now, when you offer me a penny for my thoughts, what you’re really saying is that I<\/em> owe you<\/em> 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<\/em> should really be a penny saved is 1.41¢ in debt!<\/p>\n

What would Dave Ramsey say??<\/p>\n

So, happy 103rd birthday, Lincoln penny. And remember another famous proverb:<\/p>\n

See a penny, pick it up, and all day long you’ll have a negative 1.41¢!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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