Find a penny, pick it up – it may be the last one

Back in my school days, which are getting further and further behind me, you could get a decent lunch for $2. 

Every day my mother would give me two green portraits of President George Washington to make sure I had sustenance for the day. Without fail, without reminder, on my way out the door, she would hand over dollar bills. Until one day she didn’t.

This may come as a shock to you, but I was once a stupid teenager. One day this stupid teenager was sent into the store with his older brother to buy a few things. After running our errand and returning to the car, my brother dropped a penny from the change given to him during the transaction. Mind you, this money was not ours, but belonged to our parents who charged us with the task. 

He stopped to find the lost coin, while I urged him to get a move on. We had better things to do than look for a measly one cent piece. 

The slimy rat, as brothers can be sometimes, recalled the story to our mother, who was waiting for our return. On the next school day what did I receive as lunch money? $1.99. No twisted mind on earth could come up with better creative punishments than my mother. 

The first half of the day was not spent focused on my education but surveying my surroundings for an errant penny. Thankfully most people feel the same as I used to about the small, seemingly insignificant copper coin, and I found sufficient funds to eat that day. 

But I learned a valuable lesson that day. Money is money, and it comes with responsibility, especially if it is not yours. A penny saved is a penny earned, they say. A penny found may make the difference between food in the belly and going hungry. 

Finding a penny is supposedly a sign of good luck. I’m a firm believer in that now. But the days of finding such lucky coins may be coming to an end. The U.S. will be phasing out production of the little disc of metal stamped with the likeness of Abraham Lincoln, as a cost-saving measure. Manufacturing the one-cent coin now costs well over that, and it just doesn’t make financial cents (see what I did there?) to continue making them. 

The decision comes with major financial implications. Sure, ceasing production will save money, but then, as the coins disappear, retailers are most certainly not likely to round their prices down. 

I’m more interested in the other changes that might come in a world with no pennies. What will we toss into fountains to make a wish? What will we find for good luck? What will get lost in sofa cushions and rattle around in the washing machine, forgotten in a pair of pants? Or teach my kids the importance of financial responsibility? 

It just doesn’t sound as good using a nickel.