Bad penny

[Dr. Doog]

yeah, any penny made before '85 (or some date around that) is pure copper and worth about 2 cents.

[Richard K Niner]

After that, it's all zinc, with a thin copper coating.

[DHLawrence]

Except for a couple years of wartime when they were made with steel or chrome.

[Tom Flapwell]

<!--QuoteBegin-Gizensha+Jan 21 2006, 01:48 AM--> <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'><b>Quote:</b> (Gizensha @ Jan 21 2006, 01:48 AM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> there's a limit of the amount of coppers (which aren't actually made of copper because if they were melting the things down and selling the copper would see you make a profit) you can use to pay for something here. I think it's 20, but that might be 20ps worth (which makes a difference with reguards to 2ps.) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table> <!--QuoteEEnd--><br> I'm not sure if this is still true, but at least in the '50s, U.S. merchants could refuse payments of more than 25 pennies. Naturally, no vending machine accepts any pennies at all.<br><br>When I think of a bad penny, I think of one lying tails up on the ground. I don't adhere to the superstition, but I've heard it enough times.

[Dr. Doog]

I think of it as well...a penny.<br><br>what can you buy with a penny? NOTHING. so, will you ever get rid of it? NO. and it just lies there. MOCKING YOU. making you CLAW YOUR FACE OFF.

[Blue Blur]

I once bought a three dollar bag of chips with pennies. It was late at night, so I didn't hold up the line, but I'm sure the clerk wasn't impressed. <!--emo&:P--><img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' /><!--endemo-->

[Gizensha]

<!--QuoteBegin-DoppledangeR DooG+Jan 22 2006, 03:27 AM--> <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'><b>Quote:</b> (DoppledangeR DooG @ Jan 22 2006, 03:27 AM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> I think of it as well...a penny.<br><br>what can you buy with a penny? NOTHING. so, will you ever get rid of it? NO. and it just lies there. MOCKING YOU. making you CLAW YOUR FACE OFF. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table> <!--QuoteEEnd--><br> Penny sweets! Course, they used to cost 0.5p each, which meant you baught them in twos (that was after decimalisation), and quite often cost 2p each now...<br><br>However, enough things go for 99p to make the things almost useful. Plus, there are machines in arcades designed to play with coppers. That you're almost guaranteed to lose, but still.

[Dr. Doog]

... <!--emo&<_<--><img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... ns/dry.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='dry.gif' /><!--endemo--> <br><br>I know. <!--emo&:P--><img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' /><!--endemo-->

[Tom Flapwell]

Well, if the price of postage goes up by one cent, you can buy a one-cent stamp to complement a stamp you already have. And of course, there are fountains and charity boxes full of pennies. Aside from that, yeah, single pennies are worthless.<br><br>My mom is involved in a production of <i>Oliver!</i>. In one song are the words, "Who will buy my sweet red roses? / Two blooms for a penny." It never ceases to amaze me how far a penny used to go. What if somebody wanted to buy just one rose?

[Dr. Doog]

<!--QuoteBegin-Tom Flapwell+Jan 22 2006, 12:01 PM--> <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'><b>Quote:</b> (Tom Flapwell @ Jan 22 2006, 12:01 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> And of course, there are fountains and charity boxes full of pennies. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table> <!--QuoteEEnd--><br> because people want to get rid of them. Even at my school. at the end of the year when you graduate and leave they give you a "magic penny" encased in plastic to remember the school by. you know why it's in plastic? because you'll never care about opening the easily opened plastic and use a worthless penny.

[Tom Flapwell]

In junior high school, I found more than $10 on the blacktop, mostly in pennies. One was dated 1914; I haven't found out how much it's worth. Nevertheless, I can't hope to be one of those individuals who amass a million pennies in their lifetime.<br><br>I hear that banks no longer give out paper wrappings for 50-penny rolls, or at least they don't like to, because the bankers will just have to open them and count later.

[Richard K Niner]

You know, they have machines for that.<br>And can do it without opening them.

[Zaaphod]

They don't give them out because people put slugs in them along with real pennies.<br><br>No, I don't mean slimy gastropods. <!--emo&:P--><img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' /><!--endemo--><br>

[DesertFoxCat]

Some pennies do look like that, but not nearly as slimey.

[Gizensha]

...I remember that in high school (Don't forget UK that's 11-16) that a slug once kissed my finger.