Think Like an Archaeologist

Fun Historical Facts About the Penny:

• We used to trade gold, silver, and copper.... A 1792 law directed American money to be made of gold, silver and copper. Gold was used in the $10, $5, and $2.50 pieces. The dollar, half dollar, quarter, dime, and half dime were composed of silver. The cent and half cent were made of copper.

• The first cent had an image of a lady with flowing hair, who stood for liberty. The coin was larger and made of pure copper, while today’s penny is made of copper and zinc.

• In 1909, President Lincoln appeared on a one-cent coin and became the first real person—as well as the first American president—to have his face appear on a regular-issue American coin.

• The foreign phrase “E Pluribus Unum” is Latin meaning “out of many, one,” the U.S. national motto.

• In the current coin shield design, a banner inscribed “one cent” is draped across the shield. The 13 vertical stripes on the shield represent the states joined in one union to support the federal government, represented by the horizontal bar above.

• The bar is inscribed with the national motto “E Pluribus Unum” Latin meaning “out of many, one.”