Penny project is wildly successful

Here I am lifting one of the $50 bags of pennies that the elementary students have filled since Feb. 2. I did this during the assembly that featured reps from the Denver Mint, as noted by the screen behind me.
It looks like our 170+ kids will have brought in well over $1,000 when the final tally is taken. This is phenomenal when you consider this is a rural school district with a high rate of poverty. This dollar amount represents 100,000 pennies! This is proof -- to me, at least -- of the power of the penny! We'll announce which grade brought in the most pennies on March 5 and they'll get a pizza party. All the kids will get an ice cream party. And none of it will cost us a cent since local businesses have made donations. Penny power! Penny power! Penny power!

I mentioned our fundraiser and our story contest in a guest commentary I did for The Denver Post on Feb. 12. You can read that at http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_11682251.

Log cabins held captive

My family toured the Denver Mint on Feb. 12 and got our just released log cabin pennies. This picture shows us pretending to lift a bag--if it were full of pennies it would hold $7,500 worth and weigh 3,000 pounds!

Those log cabin pennies that were "released" from the US Mint on Feb. 12 may not see the light of day for another 3 to 4 months. With the exception of the ones distributed in Kentucky during the national celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday and the few handed out to Mint tourists in Denver and Philadelphia, the rest remain stored in vaults at the Mint and Federal Reserve. According to the Denver Mint Public Affairs Office, there are still millions of dollars in Memorial pennies that need to be put into circulation first. They hadn't expected such a backlog. One of the specialists expressed frustration that the banks are not ordering more pennies these days and suggested that perhaps if they knew about the new pennies, they would be taking care of that backlog.

If they knew. I spoke to a local bank teller as she counted pennies for our school's fundraiser two days ago. Even though we had told her a week ago about the new pennies, she still insisted that they were only available through special order and are not meant to ever enter regular circulation. I could not convince her otherwise.

Regardless, we have our log cabin pennies, as do about 200 students and staff at our school -- a gift from the Denver Mint during our penny fundraiser, not to spend, but to save. They told us on Wednesday how lucky we are to be in possession of these pennies, that we are among the few worldwide to have them. Lucky? Of course. What else would one expect of a penny?

It's time you know

I stand amazed. Not in awe, but in a stupor. The release of the new 2009 penny has not made headlines. Bank presidents, news reporters, coin collectors all--raise their eyebrows, cock their heads and ask, "There's a new penny being released?"

The reverse side Lincoln Memorial penny is no longer being produced. On Feb. 12 of this year a new reverse side penny was put into circulation. Instead of an imprint of an elaborate marbled monument there is now a rustic log cabin, the place of Abraham Lincoln's birth 200 years ago. And every three months this year, more new penny designs that reflect Lincoln's life will be released. Who knew? I did, for one. The U.S. Mint folks did too, obviously. As well as our U.S. Congress who approved this change a while back.

Now, you know too.