Penny Question

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Originally posted by dsking

Here's a little excerpt that I found on-line for you:

"The one-cent coin, commonly known as the penny, was the first currency of any type authorized by the United States. The design for the first one-cent coin was suggested by Benjamin Franklin. The counterpart. The word "penny" is derived from the British coin pence. Over 300 billion one-cent coins, with 11 different designs, have been minted since 1787."

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Thanks, dsking -- I don't think I mind being common.

Jan

You should take a look through it. There is a lot of info in there and some very interesting facts.

Sorry everyone I didn't mean to offend your sensitivities. I found the info on this web site: http://www.pennies.org/history/intro.html I thought that it would be helpful to coin girls original question. There are certainly a lot of "common" terms for many things such as a "buck" for a dollar and so forth. Knowing the slang or "common" terms are in my IMHO just as important as the numismatic terms...makes for a more well-rounded and socially knowledgeable individual. Facts are great but, knowing "common" terms seem to help for social acceptance in the long run.

The web site has a lot of interesting "stuff" so I hope that not only coin girl can learn from it but, others as well.

I have just read through this thread and I have to say that we need to keep in mind how important it is to give Young Numismatists as exact and correct information as possible. I know that we don't want the next generation of collectors to be less informed than we are.

Here is an example: Our own President of the US pronounced "nuclear" as "nucular". Do you feel that this is acceptable? I certainly don't. This was considered a "common" pronounciation of this word, though, and no one has ever made an effort to correct anyone who uses it.

I do not want this same type of lackadaisical attitude when it comes to our hobby. The young collectors that are interested and participating on CC are a special breed. So few kids are interested in hobbies such as ours anymore. Most are playing video games and watching TV. As a result, I feel that the YN's are our most valuable asset in numismatics and should be treated like gold - with only the best information and help being given to them.

Just my humble opinion...

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Originally posted by janknez

Hi, Coin Girl. Just wanted to reassure you that I call them pennies too. I'm not sure why that offends numismatic sensibilities. Sure, the term came from the British, but so did our language, which is probably why 99% of the American populace calls them pennies.

Imagine wearing cent loafers, or saying something like "A cent for your thoughts," or singing "Every time it rains, it rains cents from heaven...."
Oh, and by the way, welcome to the forum.
Jan

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Everything I wanted to say. I am very old and have called them pennies for well over 60 years. Everyone I know calls them pennies. I go to about 3 coin shows a month and almost everyone there calls them pennies and that includes the dealers. At stores, gas stations, flea markets, people's homes I only hear the word pennies. And as to YN's, that too is a term basically used on coin forums, not in real life. This is why there are terminology explanations on such places as the PCGS, JMScoins, etc to explain terms used on coin forums but not used in real life. Sorry if this affends coin collectors that use proper terminology, but many of these terms are must not used by the majority.
I really, really like that one about "every time it rains it rains CENTS from heaven."
Unfortunately for the majority of people most organizatioins want to distinguish themselves so they start their own vocabulary. I've worked in the Nuclear industry and the amount of terminology used there is just not used by normal people.

Well then, let's make jaeet an English word then. I hear it a whole lot more than penny. It's used by kids and adults all the time and definitely is more commonly used than penny. .

Next time someone asks you if you've had dinner, listen very closely.....




























"Jaeet yet?"

Just because it's commonly used doesn't make it right.

Please note all the smileys and don't get mad. Sometimes a little silliness can help prove a point.

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What I am not all about is having any new collectors thinking that the numismatic community is so stuffy [read: pretentious], parochial, and esoteric that one is not worthy of membership therein if one calls the little copper coin a penny. That was all.

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I do see your point, however I don't think Coin Girl thinks anyone is stuffy. I think she's just taking it all in and learning.