Find a penny...

[maddy]

... pick it up
and all day you will have good luck.

(but only if it's head's up!)

Can you identify the "real" penny? No cheating by holding a real penny in your hand as you take the little test.

Penny (http://www.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/common_cents/index.html)

[osuche]

Mr Osuche liked that game. ty maddy!

[Lilith]

Mr. Lil got it!

[jseal]

Nope. not me. :(

[Oldfart]

Nope, but not surprised Mr Lil did.

[rockintime]

Took me two picks. Guess I need to "save my pennies" better.

[Booger]

got it fist try

[Scarecrow]

I must pick up a lot of pennies, I got it on the first try.

[PantyFanatic]

Congratulations! You've made the right choice. Most people have a hard time making this choice. You need to be able to recognize a penny when you see one. But you don't need to remember many details to distinguish it from a dime or quarter. The fact that most people don't make the correct choice suggests that we're likely to remember only enough about an object to recognize it in everyday life.
2279348 people have made this choice.

I guess I’ve been looking at them longer than most Pixies :( ………………. Or because the PAGANS are already saving them for the next Pixie gathering. ;)

[Neige]

I got the wrong one, but I suppose I see them less than Americans... However we do have quite a few mixed in with our change here in Canada. I am curious, in the States do you find many Canadian pennies in your change?

[Lilith]

We used to find a lot more than we do now days. I know in jobs where I handled cash they told us specifically to watch for them. But that was quite a long time ago.

[PantyFanatic]

In our area we see a lot of them and they are constantly being spit back by vending machines of all kinds. The banks are the ones that have the most concern as pennies, beaver nickels and queen quarters are so close to being the same, but I have a hunch it will lessen as the exchange rate difference closes. ;)







(now how do I pass off these loonies and twonies for the right rate? :confused: )

[Loulabelle]

Nope, none of them a real pennies.

A penny has the Queen's head on it.

How on earth does the penny fit into the American currency system anyway? We have pounds and pence (the singular of which is penny) and the Americans have dollars, cents and pence?! It doesn't make any sense to me!!!! :huh:

[Lilith]

We have dollars (paper money and coinage) and cents (coinage); a penny is 1 cent, a nickel is 5 cents, a dime is 10 cents, a quarter is 25 cents, and we have 50 cent pieces or half dollars.

[maddy]

I just went and googled British currency to get an understanding of what you meant, Lou.

Here's how it works in the US...
we have coins....
penny - one cent
nickel - five cents
dime - ten cents
quarter - twenty-five cents

*less common coins*
half dollar - fifty cents
dollar - one dollar - (susan b anthony dollar, sacagawea dollar are the ones I'm most familiar with)

we have dollars (paper currency)
$1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100 - there is also a $2 which I think I've only ever seen in the collection in my mom's dresser drawer and never seen used.

I'm sure someone like PF will be able to chime in with the origins and how this all ties back to England, as there certainly appears to be similarities.

[Neige]

My grandfather once told me the reason why Americans don't use the $2 bills anymore is that those are what politicians would use to buy votes in the earlier days. Any truth to it? I actually have one or two of them in my money collection - the tourists occasionally use them in Canada.

[PantyFanatic]

......
I'm sure someone like PF will be able to chime in with the origins and how this all ties back to England, as there certainly appears to be similarities.
No! :mad: I lost interest after they stopped trading with beads and chickens, smarty pants.

(Maddy just wants to get in on all the good things she missed by not coming to PAGAN :rolleyes: )

One of the group conversations was the differences in American, Australian and Canadian currency. We didn’t resolve the necessity for cartoon colored monopoly money, but some very practical points were brought to light about size and shape of both bills and coins. I guess I’ll let you see one of my keepsakes from Niagara. ;)


PS
... and for her ^^^ too.
;)

[PantyFanatic]

LOL :D Actually my life started the only year I know of when American didn’t issue a copper penny. That one year during the 2nd WW, the “white penny” (or “lead penny”) was made of a zinc alloy because copper was needed for the war effort. I do recall when our “wheat penny” design changed to the current Lincoln (Lincoln memorial on the backside) penny when I was working behind a soda fountain in a drug store during the late 50’s. I’ve seen the half-cent, Indian head penny and two cent piece that common poor people would have tucked away as their “coin collection” but none were in circulation in my lifetime.

It was around that same time when $1 bill silver certificate was changed to a Federal Reserve note with little enough design change that you had to have one of each together to see the differences.

The current Jefferson nickel was as common as the older buffalo nickel with what I think was Sitting Bull’s head on the front and the standing buffalo on the back, and has gradually disappeared with little fanfare. (took a lot of good money jokes with it too :( ) Silver dollars (“cart wheels”) coins were always available at the bank by request and often given as gifts. Half-dollars (50 cent piece, “half-wheels” “four-bits”) were in ready circulation to where there was a compartment in the cash register coin drawer for them. The Kennedy half-dollar came out sometime in the 60’s and is fading with the rest of the halves now.

Besides the going away of the couple items mentioned, those were the major changes in the first half century of my life. I had heard that the $10,000.00 bill was taken out of circulation but I adjusted. :rolleyes2

The last few years has seen American currency revised, remodeled and redesigned on almost a monthly basis to where I just look for English spelling on it and hope somebody else will accept it in exchange. :sad:

[maddy]

Half-dollars (50 cent piece, “half-wheels” “four-bits”) were in ready circulation to where there was a compartment in the cash register coin drawer for them.

Interestingly enough, when I was reading up on the $2 today to see if I could find truth in PixieSprite's tale about the bill, I learned the cash register drawer has a spot for these bills. When I worked behind a register I just thought the spot was for checks. Little did I know.

[PantyFanatic]

Oh yes! The duce.
Those have always been around but also less so now. My understanding was they were created for the race track industry as the minimum bet has long been $2 and I know they are still given out there.

[Booger]

From what I read here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._two_dollar_bill) there are just many 2 dollar bills out there as the rest. The reason you don't see them as much is there is no real demand for then beside collectors. I did find a funny (http://paul.merton.ox.ac.uk/tales/money.html) little story about two dollar bills. I also had to laugh when I saw this one (http://cgi.ebay.com/Two-Dollar-Bill_W0QQitemZ280024668033QQihZ018QQcategoryZ3420QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) at ebay that had a buy now price of $350. and a starting bid of 3.50. We had a restaurant here where you would get one with your change.

[PantyFanatic]

..... I also had to laugh when I saw this one (http://cgi.ebay.com/Two-Dollar-Bill_W0QQitemZ280024668033QQihZ018QQcategoryZ3420QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) at ebay that had a buy now price of $350. and a starting bid of 3.50. .....
... and $7.05 shipping. :roflmao:

"... every minute"







(why can't I think like PT Barnum? :banghead: )

[WildIrish]

... and $7.05 shipping. :roflmao:




Isn't sending currency through the mail against the law?


Maybe they send a money order. :p

[wyndhy]

nope. muffed it.

[scotzoidman]

Isn't sending currency through the mail against the law?


Maybe they send a money order. :p
I know, old topic, but I somehow missed this thread 1st time around.

No law against sending currency in the mail that I know of, just not the smartest way to pay your bills. If there is a law agin it, I'm a repeat offender...I had a lockbox full of funny money from various nations, collected mostly by my dad, that I sold off piece at a time on ebay a few years back. For shipping purposes I always sent them out in thick brown oversize envelopes, sandwiched 'tween cardboard to avoid damage, & always careful to disguise them as not-so-important mail to avoid any prying eyes & sticky fingers...in order to make sure I didn't undervalue my prizes, I quickly became an expert on the subject that I still can't spell ;)

[IowaMan]

How about that, I got it on the first attempt. :nana::nana::nana:

[dicksbro]

I also got it on the first attempt ... but it took a bit of time to feel sure. http://bestsmileys.com/dancing/11.gif

[Teddy Bear]

I picked the real penny the first time. :)


I don't know about mailing money within the US being illegal. But I do know it can not be mailed overseas according to custom regulations which you can read at any post office.

[PantyFanatic]

But you can still go to the bank and exchange for the foreign currency and put it in a card. ;)