Over the past few years, I’ve written a number of columns about US currency. Mostly I delved into the examination of paper money to point out the secret messages left by the designers of the various denominations. Recently I started doing some research into United States minted coins, to see if I could find similar themes of designs like the ones that exist on paper money.

But I cashed out early on the research for minted coins. I was stunned to find out that the US Treasury has already taken the first steps to phase out the penny. The final order for penny blanks was delivered a few weeks ago. I find it ironic that the first step in making pennies requires a blank. You learned at an early age to save them in a piggy bank. No blank means nothing for your bank as in “this little piggy had none.”

The United States penny has a long and interesting history. The first one cent coin was struck in 1787. It was designed by Benjamin Franklin. Ben put the kite down long enough to put on his bifocals and figure out how to make a penny. The first penny was larger and much heavier than the one that we used today. 

In 1909, The Lincoln Cent was introduced to honor Abraham Lincoln’s 100th birthday. It was the first US coin to feature a historical figure. The penny changed for a while, beginning in 1943. Due to copper shortages during World War 2, pennies were made of zinc coated steel. I remember as a kid I had a binder to sort and save them. The zinc years stood out. 

Another change happened in 2010 when they redesigned the flip side. Replacing the Lincoln Memorial with what’s called the Union Shield design.

I did some research to learn more about penny blanks. The sole producer of penny blanks is the Artazn Zinc Company located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The first step in killing off the penny is to stop ordering the production of the blanks. That apparently has already been done.

A blank is a flat metal disc that will eventually become a coin. To prepare them for striking on their way to becoming a coin the blanks are annealed. That process alters the physical properties of a material reducing its hardness. The blank is then struck with the coin’s image. They’re washed and dried to restore the original color. Then they do something called upsetting. Upsetting is the way that they upset the edge of the coin to create a raised rim. I find the idea that we won’t have pennies anymore to be very upsetting. Eventually, generations of Americans will have no memory of the penny.

If the penny disappears that makes the nickel the lowest value coin in circulation in the United States. Popular sayings and themes such as “A penny for your thoughts” and “Penny Lane” by The Beatles become “A nickel for your thoughts” and “Nickel Lane” by The Beatles. If my readers want to come up with other Nickel songs or expressions send me an e-mail. Meanwhile, remember, “A Nickel saved is a nickel earned.”

Hudson Cooper is a resident of Sullivan County, a writer, comedian and actor.