As much as some people love the penny, we all have to admit that the poor coin is on its last legs. It *will* be phased out sooner or later; it's just a question of when. It is amazing that pennies have lasted this long. Indeed, no one likes having to deal with them; and yet, bring up the idea of abolishing them altogether and an roar of protest will arise.

I think we should plan ahead for our farewell to this special coin. Pennies minted in the final year should have a special "Farewell" design; something poignant but still strong and resolute. For example, on the front, instead of "Liberty" the coin would say "Farewell", and on the back there'd be a picture of an eagle flying away.

I'd also like to imbue the penny with a final streak of brilliance and value before we say goodbye to it forever. The earliest pennies are extremely valuable today; I think it would be fitting if the last pennies ever made were also valuable. So, I propose that only a limited number of "Farewell" pennies be minted. Say, around 10,000. They will be individually numbered in descending order, starting with "10000", then "9999", etc. The penny labeled "0001" will the last penny ever produced.
-- phundug, Mar 21 2005

I think it's pretty good.
-- DesertFox, Mar 21 2005


How would you decide who gets these pennys? Normally currency is traded at face value, but these would be in high demand. E-bay?
-- Worldgineer, Mar 21 2005


//Normally currency is traded at face value//
I find this odd. If you're only going to get face value, why bother trading? I can get our Richard Trevithick commemorative £2 coin for around £3 uncirculated now, but they normally sell for much more, even though they were only issued last year.
-- angel, Mar 22 2005


//why bother trading?//

You won't be wanting any change the next time you haven't got the exact money then, angel?
-- DrBob, Mar 22 2005


// How would you decide who gets these pennies?//

They will be scattered randomly over the streets of America by low-flying aircraft, at midnight on September 21, 2010.
-- phundug, Mar 22 2005


if you do away with 1p, then the lowest common denominator would logically be the 10p. get rid of the 2p and 5p while you're at it.
-- po, Mar 22 2005



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