Coin of the Realm
There was a copper coin on the floor in front of my locker in the surgeons ’ changing area , and I bent over and picked it up . It was an older style Lincoln Head penny with “ one cent ” on the reverse . The coin was not as old as the Lincoln Head pennies my grandmother left me . They are rolled up hidden in a lost sock in the closet somewhere , or just lost .
I am finding more pennies on the ground these days . I notice others step right on past without even a nod of the head , but I stoop to pick them up . They can be found alongside the curb where they have fallen out of a pocket where someone reached for keys or a wallet . Lost coins are beside the cash register at the supermarket ; they are alongside gasoline pumps . I pick them up because , ever so humble , pennies are still the “ coin of the realm .”
A penny used to buy a lot of things in the old days before Door Dash . There was penny candy – a good selection was on display at the convenience store across Harvard Street from Hebrew School . There was just enough time during the 20-minute break to run over to the store , make a purchase and get back into class before the bell . A favorite selection was a dark black twisted , sulfurous licorice stick that stuck in your mouth if you ate it too fast . Alternatively , I could use the break to get into a fight with a lad who later in life owned a famous football team . This activity could lead to a session in the principal ’ s office . In those days past , steel cents ( minted from 1943- 1944 ) were still in circulation . These coins were produced to save copper metal which was needed for World War II .
For one cent , gumball machines and marble machines dispensed their wares from a glass globe . Today there is still a ride in a local market that will take a cent for a few minutes atop the one lonely mechanical horse that remains . Formerly , a penny could get you
by DAVID SELIGSON , MD
12 minutes on a parking meter - enough time to run in and drop off the laundry . I used to place pennies on the streetcar tracks by Braves ’ ( now Boston University ) Field . The trolley would bounce slightly as it rolled over and flattened the coin . My buddies and I hid behind a parked car to watch , there was always the frightening vision of a streetcar hitting the coin and derailing ( sort of like the thrill at the circus that an acrobat might fall from the high wire ). Of course , the catastrophic accident never happened . Our delicious crime was heightened by the going opinion that pennies like silver certificates were protected as official government monetary tokens and should not be defaced . A well-placed coin would be smashed into a thin sheet two to three times its original size ; a good specimen would still be legible .
Recently my bank sent me a letter that they were increasing the amount in my account by a few pennies because the teller had misread the last two digits of the check I deposited . Do not underestimate the cost of this transaction to the bank . Log sheets had to be retrieved , accounts corrected and finally a letter prepared , folded into an envelope , stamped and mailed . Considering employee time , the evolution must have cost at least $ 30.00 .
We had a similar event in the outpatient clinic several years ago when I decided not to refund small overpayments ( less than a quarter ) because the economics did not make sense . Shortly , the comptroller advised this would be a federal offense - fraud , punishable by a fine in the thousands each . Rest assured these expensive little refunds went out forthwith in a silly waste of resources .
So , I muse over my latest credit card bill from a major department store chain . If I short the payment by a few pennies , how much will the late payment fee and hike in the interest rate cost me ? A penny for your thoughts !
Dr . Seligson is a professor in the Department of Orthopedics at UofL and practices with University of Louisville Physicians . He specializes in Orthopedic Trauma .
February 2023 19