The Passing of the Penny

More and more stores don’t fool with pennies. The US mint stopped minting them in November of 2025. As they become less prevalent stores don’t use them and “round up” when making change. The passing of the penny.

Pennies were the first thing many began to collect. The 1909-S VDB was and is a prize. So too the 1943 bronze/copper penny. Remember those blue coin collector books?

Years ago I committed myself to picking up pennies. This was not about building a coin collection; it was about stewardship. Somehow I had gotten it in my mind that picking up pennies (and other coins) from the ground was an act of faithfulness; it was accepting the gifts God had for me, even if it was just a penny. This was at a time in my life that a few cents meant something. Did I mention that it was years ago?

It has remained a habit until this week.

A friend sent a devotion about a man who collected things he found on the ground.  “A young man once found a five-dollar bill on the street,” says William Feather, a writer. “From that time on he never lifted his eyes when walking. Over the years, he accumulated 29,516 buttons, 54,172 pins, 12 pennies, a bent back, and a miserable disposition. He lost the glory of the sunlight, the sheen of the stars, the smiles of his friends, tree blossoms in the spring, the blue skies, and the entire joy of living.”

I have collected more than 12 pennies and once found a twenty-dollar bill.*

But I am done with pennies. Not because of their value, but because of the importance of looking up, not down. My friend quoted this verse. “I lift up my eyes to You, to You whose throne is in heaven.” (Psalm 123:1) I like to quote from Hebrews 12, “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Then there is Psalm 121, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of the heaven and the earth.”

All of this reminds me of something that Paul Harvey (Goooood Day) said when one of the TV preachers had fallen into disgrace. “Any one whose faith is shaken by what just happened had not been looking high enough.”

Eyes on high. Don’t be discouraged by what goes on around us. Don’t be obsessed with the things of the earth.

So next time I inadvertently look down and see a penny, instead of stooping to pick it up, I am going to use it as an invitation to look heavenward, to God above, and thank him for all he has done for and given to me. Looking down is discouraging and distracting. Looking up is where the action is. Heaven has lots more to offer than pennies.

 *It was near my car in the church parking lot. I put it in the offering.