I want to hop on the wagon to be ready for change now. Three morning newspapers say a penny’s life is limited. Though it is slightly larger than a dime its value is at the bottom of the pay scale. As far as I can tell, it is only used to figure odd amounts of tax or postage and nobody wants to count a jar full as payment for an ice cream bar. A little history is involved, though, because it’s not the first bit of metal to bite the dust. (That was a joke and deserves at least a snicker.) The base of coinage in colonial times was a Spanish dollar composed of 8 silver reales leading to pieces of 8. Through math I don’t understand that evolved into a group each equal to $.12 1/2 or a bit. After the Coinage Act of 1857 bit was used only by a few old-timers who defined a quarter as two bits and cheerleaders who bounced to “Two bits, four bits, …”and you know the rest.
Having no pennies to spend may take a while even if mints turn off tomorrow the machinery that fills the molds. Unless the government calls in all in circulation as they did with silver dollars, some of your children may have a few odd ones turn up in the back of a drawer or even framed as a memento hanging on the wall as I plan on doing. A few of us will cling to odd sayings that may have had more meaning at one time. Start with, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Never a word of truth even with compounded daily interest. To define stick with it determination you might say, “In for a penny in for a pound.” While ” Pennies from heaven” may denote blessings, offering “A penny for your thoughts,” doesn’t make them worth much.
To make this work, the first step will be rounding up a final bill. Rounding down will not be the option. Of course, the economy will improve If all the people shopping lose $.03 per item while the stores can count that as a profit. Henceforth my phone bill will be $115.00 month instead of $114.97. All of this has to do with change and with Change. Half dollars vanished almost painlessly and food and shelter could still be paid for. Hold on to what and Who doesn’t change. In the great scheme of things, this verse might help start the morning.
Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.
Proverbs 15:16
Let Me Tell Ya 