Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Do you pick up pennies off the ground?

So, we've all heard the phrase about having good luck when we pick up a penny off the ground. The phrase has been around almost as long as the penny has.  Of course as the purchasing power of the penny declined, additional superstitions were added, such as only "heads up" pennies were lucky, and the "tails up" pennies should either be turned over to "heads up" so the next person to come by could receive the luck, or given immediately to someone else so that they could receive the luck, or other variations.  Now you'd have to find a $5 or $10 bill to get the same purchasing power as the penny of the 1800's.  No doubt you'd feel lucky if you found that much money on the ground.  Way back then, it was almost unheard of to find money on the ground, so it was indeed lucky.  Now you can find pennies every day just by walking down the street.  So, do you receive the same amount of luck and gratification today, as the people back in the 1800's had when they were fortunate enough to find a penny and pick it up?  Do you even bother stooping down to pick up those pennies?  If I'm not in a hurry, I'll usually pick up those pennies.  Not because I think they are worth so much, but because each penny I return to circulation, is 2 cents I save the government (and myself) paying to replace it. So does anyone else pick up pennies out there and why?

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