Nickel and Dime, but Don’t Forget the Pennies
What if you had a penny for every time you lost one?
(Oh the places we could go!)
No, but seriously, even by guesstimation this figure is pretty surprising!
People, (including me) drop or purposely throw pennies away all the time… Let’s just say every adult in the country “lost” a meager 3 cents this year (this is obviously a modest amount). Multiply that by the number of adults in America and you get something like $743,441,730 lost pennies a year!
And…it gets even stranger. Did you know National Lost Penny Day is actually a thing? It was introduced by eventologist Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith in 1995, and even though this day was readily adopted by the nation it still remains an unofficial holiday. Annually observed on February 12th, it is best known for its active sense of community mindfulness.
*Fun fact* February 12th, the day of the lost penny, is also Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
This day is dedicated to the search and gather of all spare change that gets swept under the rug–literally! Or in the couch, car, and all the other magical places our spare change seems to ends up. Acquire luck and bonus points by finding and keeping a penny from off the street. Once the scavenger hunt has ended, it is traditional to donate the findings or participate in a sort of pay it forward act.
These small but important contributions are a reminder that giving back to the community or supporting your chosen cause is easily possible if we only make the effort. Other popular uses for our lost bits of gold include buying a lottery ticket, showing children how to manage a savings account, giving someone a penny for their thoughts, and penny focused arts and crafts. What will you do with all your pennies this year?
National Lost Penny Day
- Collect your change: Donate to a cause
- Create a masterpiece: Arts and crafts
- Pay it forward: Buy someone lunch
- Start a gratitude jar: Watch your change grow
- Need to make a decision: Flip a coin
- Check your pennies: Some are rare and worth more than you think
“Petty change can make an astounding difference”
– Adrienne Koopersmith
