Farewell, fair penny. You are finished, but never forgotten

"Like nearly all Americans, you descended from an immigrant, the British penny. Those coins were once so valuable that they were split into halves and even quarters your late British cousins, the halfpenny and the farthing. In Britain, the coin's history goes back to the time when kings and queens had names like Offa and Cynethryth and Aethelred the Unready, and your name likely traces its lineage from the German for pan pfanne, for pan, which evolved to pfennig, for penny."

"The U.S. minted its first official penny in 1793. Abraham Lincoln was pictured on the coin starting in 1909, to honor the centennial of his birth, the first time a president's image graced U.S. currency. The words "In God We Trust" were added at the same time. Ever the trailblazer, you, the humble penny, were the first to carry those words before Congress added it to all currency and made it the national motto almost a half-century later."

"The first one-cent coin in the United States rolled off a private mint in 1787 and wasn't called a penny. It was the fugio cent fugio for "fly away" in Latin, signifying time flies. The 100% copper coin was inscribed with the surprising words, "mind your business," more a take on "penny wise, pound foolish" than an admonition against nosiness."

The coin originated from British pennies and traces linguistic roots to German pfanne/pfennig. Early American cents began with a 1787 fugio cent and the first official U.S. penny minted in 1793. Abraham Lincoln's portrait first appeared in 1909 and "In God We Trust" was added concurrently. The coin served as soldiers' pay during the Civil War and remained in circulation for 232 years. Polished pennies retain their original appearance but hold much lower purchasing power today. The modern composition is primarily zinc with only 2.5% copper, reflecting material changes that reduce intrinsic metal value.

Read at www.npr.org