Pick Up That Penny!
by Do you pick up pennies when you see them on the ground?
Have you ever wondered why Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States is on the penny? Considering Lincoln’s role in American history, wouldn’t you think his portrait would be on a bigger denomination of money than the penny and the $5 bill.
A person’s face was not usually placed on a circulating coin. However, Lincoln’s face was placed on the penny and it is among the longest running coin types ever in the world coinage history.
“In God we trust” was added to the penny design in order to balance the design elements and to fill in the empty space at the top.
Lincoln’s face appears on the lowest coin for one main reason. According to Victor David Brenner, the famous sculptor who was responsible for putting Lincoln’s face on every penny claims that Lincoln said, “The Lord must love the common people because He made so many of them.” To make sure every common person in the United States would have money, there are more pennies minted than any other single coin in the United States. So there is no reason pennies can’t be in the hands of every common person.
Some people see pennies on the ground and just leave them. Annie Dillard, a famous writer, said she picks up pennies because they are signs from heaven. Then she drops pennies for others to pick up so they can be blessed.
There is an old adage that says, “See a penny, pick it up, and all that day remember the poor and oppressed.” Benjamin Franklin, in his Poor Richard’s Almanac said “A penny served is a penny earned.”
I believe finding a penny on the ground is God’s way of speaking to me. Inevitably when I am faced with a major decision to make or a struggle of some kind, I find a penny on the ground. That is God’s way of letting me know the outcome will be favorable. It might sound odd to you, but this has been going on for years and is likely to continue.
I’m not insisting that you should pick up pennies for the same reason as I do. In fact, it is good if you don’t. The penny you leave behind just might be a silent reminder that God, Abraham Lincoln and Victor David Brenner had ME in mind when all those pennies were minted.
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