83 Things You Can Do With a Penny
By Valerie S. Johnson, June 23rd, 2007 | 36 Comments »
Many people assume that the penny is no longer good for anything, but not according to members from the forums – there are still a lot of things that you can do with a penny.
Here are 83 of them (Disclaimer: Some of these activities involve defacing pennies which may be illegal):
1. Clean dirty pennies instantly by dropping them into a saucer of vinegar with table salt stirred in.
2. Use for leverage to pry off the lid from a difficult “line-up-the-arrows” childproof medication bottle.
3. Slip one under a vase that sits a little wobbly to steady it.
4. Tape one to the tail of your kite for a little more stabilizing weight.
5. Teach your toddler to count with them.
6. Teach your little bit older child a little culture and history by looking in the dictionary to find that the American coin is only called a “penny” in slang, and that its proper name is “cent.”
7. Use as an impromptu screwdriver in a wide slotted bolt.
8. Trace around to make small circles for crafts (appliqué, scrap booking, etc.).
9. Collect in your change jar and cash in when full.
10. Scratch off lottery tickets.
11. Make sculptures like penny towers.
12. For good luck, place one over every doorway when you move into a home.
13. Fill a sock with pennies for self defense.
14. Play penny poker.
15. Over a concrete surface, hold a penny with pliers and melt it with a torch. It will drip down, nearly cool before it hits the ground, then instantly form a beautiful shiny, lacy, silver-colored foil as it spreads on but does not get stuck to the concrete.
16. Toss them in wishing wells.
17. Collect rare, valuable pennies.
18. To make an old lawn mower easier to start, rub a penny between the points (or condenser) on the engine to help them conduct better.
19. Put one behind a fuse in the fuse box.
20. Use to make crafts and jewelry.
21. Check your car’s tires by placing one head down between the tire tread grooves. Replace the tires if you can see Lincoln’s whole head or any of the “In God We Trust” letters above his head.
22. Use to open the battery compartment of a remote control.
23. Toss one to see which side starts the soccer game.
24. Increase the pH of soil for hydrangeas.
25. Throw handfuls to the crowd of spectators at a parade.
26. Superglue one over the spring-loaded latch on the cabinet if you don’t want it to close with a catch.
27. Mix them in the grab bag of Halloween candy for trick-or-treaters.
28. Nail through one when you need to spread the holding force of the nail head over a greater area.
29. Spin them on the table for entertainment while waiting for your order at a diner.
30. Toss into the deep end of the pool and challenge the kids to dive and get them.
31. Drill a hole through opposite edges of many pennies and string them together to make a little rain chain.
32. Put them all around vulnerable garden seedlings to repel slugs. The folklore is that slugs touching copper will experience a tiny electric shock as electrons are exchanged between a slimy slug and copper.
33. Find one heads up to have good luck.
34. Prompt your backstabbing workmate to pick up the one that is tails side up on the sidewalk so that he will have bad luck.
35. Place one on your loved one’s grave to let them know you have been there and think of them.
36. Use one as inspiration for song. “Pennies … pennies from heaven.”
37. Visit another country and give them to children for the novelty of foreign coinage.
38. Use a small collection to entertain a young child by encouraging them to make designs.
39. Sew them onto your belt for decoration.
40. Place them in the hems of your draperies to make them hang smoothly.
41. Put one on the back of your hand. Quickly drop your hand downward while turning it over to catch the penny on the flat palm of your hand. Reverse the action to catch it on the back of your hand.
42. Bend your arm up with your fingers close to your ear on the same side. Place one or a stack of pennies close to your elbow. All in one motion, snap your hand forward to catch them.
43. Get a big silky scarf and rubber band a penny into each corner. Holding the corners together, roll up the scarf over the pennies. Thrown it as high into the air as you can, and then watch the scarf float slowly down like a parachute.
44. Pour a patio and put one penny for each of your kids into a discrete spot before the concrete sets. Pennies should be dated with the kids’ birth years.
45. Wrap one or more in electrical tape to make a heavier “cork ball” for that baseball- like game.
46. Demonstrate transfer of energy by making a short line of them on a table, then slide one penny forcefully onto the end of the line. See how at the far end of the line one penny then scoots away from the rest of the line.
47. Put one or more inside a couple of foil pie pans taped together to make a rhythm toy.
48. Make pretend spurs: flatten two pennies on a railroad track, then bend them. Pierce a hole through them and also through a third flattened but unbent penny. Stack the pennies together over a paperclip with the flat one in the middle. Slip a piece of string through the opposite end of the paperclip and tie around your kid’s ankle.
49. Get one to cling to the end of your nose without tilting your head back.
50. Fill the slots of your penny loafers.
51. Ask someone much older than you what a penny used to buy.
52. Find a place that still sells penny candy and buy a piece!
53. Quintuple your money: find someone who will give you a nickel for your penny.
54. See how far you can roll a penny down a hard floored hallway.
55. If you need brass washers to help rehang some loose gingerbread (fancy woodwork) on your house, drill holes in pennies. Brass washers cost about 4 cents each and pennies cost – well, a penny.
56. Use financial education. If you start with one penny on day one of a month and double that amount every day, how much do you have at the end of the month? If it’s a 30-day month: $5,368,709.12. If it’s a 31-day month: $10,737,418.24.
57. A penny says “In God we Trust”. Every time you pick one up, say a little prayer.
58. Use in a toll booth in the states where they are still accepted, like Illinois.
59. Trap someone in their room by forcing three or four pennies stacked together between the door and door jam.
60. Old wives’ tale: if you drop a penny on the floor in your home, don’t pick it up. Kick it under a piece of furniture or into a corner of the room out of sight. After cleaning, throw it back down. You will always have money.
61. Toss in fountains to make wishes. Just make sure there are no signs prohibiting it, especially if there are live fish in the water.
62. Use as a spacer when laying tile.
63. Play beer games: bounce a penny on the table and into a shot glass. If you make it, you get a drink. If not, you get a drink …
64. Snap a penny in your fingers and make it shoot like a projectile. A well-placed hit can sting quite a bit.
65. Five pennies can substitute for a die (as in singular of dice). Heads counts as 1 and tails count as zero. You start at 1, and add up the number of heads.
66. If you’re really mischievous and peeved, use them as revenge payment for money owed.
67. Play spin the top. Each person holds a penny upright with one finger, and flicks it with a finger in the other hand. You win if your penny spins the longest.
68. Play curling. Draw a circle on a smooth surface and flick pennies from a distance. Whoever gets the most into the circle wins. You can knock your opponent’s pennies out of the circle as well.
69. Learn how to do cool sleight-of-hand magic tricks.
70. Insert a shiny penny in a machine at amusement parks which run a small press to flatten it into an oval and then imprint the amusement park’s logo on it.
71. Use as a bookmark.
72. Freeze them and drop down the shirts of unsuspecting victims.
73. Pay for things with exact change.
74. Buy stamps at vending machines at post offices.
75. Use as replacement checkers when you lose some.
76. Weigh down hems from dresses. Open up the hemline and drop a penny in.
77. Glue one onto a shoe for a tap dance shoe.
78. A penny saved is a penny earned. In fact, it is even more than a penny earned since a penny earned will have taxes taken out.
79. To make round corners on a photo, put the penny on the photo, trace lightly around the edge, and then cut on the line.
80. Play penny-pitch.
81. Donate to charities that leave change jars near cash registers, or to the Salvation Army or other charities at Christmas.
82. Let your child throw them into the garden to magically find again next spring, as if the fairies seeded the garden with pennies.
83. Give someone a penny for their thoughts!
We’re sure there are a lot more uses for pennies out there – if you use pennies in a way not mentioned above, leave a comment so we can add it to our list.
June 23rd, 2007 at 6:40 am
If you’re a coin collector looking to sell… DO NOT clean that penny. If you do, the value of the coin actually decreases a lot! Coin collections are a dirty bunch.
June 23rd, 2007 at 8:09 am
“Snap a penny in your fingers and make it shoot like a projectile. A well-placed hit can sting quite a bit.”
Ah yes, school days. Good times.
June 23rd, 2007 at 8:19 am
Last time I went, there were penny slot machines in the downtown Las Vegas casinos.
June 23rd, 2007 at 8:56 am
Use a penny as part of a science experiment to show how water tension works. With an eye dropper, see how many drops of water each side can hold. Think about and explain why one side (heads or tails, you figure it out *smie*) can hold more drops of water than the other.
I use this simple experiment every year and the students are always amazed that each side doesn’t hold the same amount. They really enjoy seeing how high they can get the “bubble” of water to stand over the edges of the penny before the “drop that breaks the penny’s back”.
June 23rd, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Some of these are really bad ideas. Using a penny instead of a fuse? Throw them at spectators in a crowd? Lots of superstitious stuff as well.
Save them, and exchange them for cash. Very little can be bought for a dollar, let alone one hundredth of a dollar, but a few thousand pennies would be nice to have for nothing.
June 24th, 2007 at 2:57 am
Every night I take my cash out of my purse and sort the pennies into a little bag and give them to my 21 months old grandaughter. You be amazed how the penny’s add up
June 24th, 2007 at 7:30 am
[...] Pennies may not be worth that much but Saving Advice has 83 Things you Can Do With A Penny. [...]
June 26th, 2007 at 5:01 am
[...] S. Johnson presents 83 Things You Can Do With a Penny posted at SavingAdvice.com Blog. I really enjoyed this article. However, if you have enough pennies [...]
June 26th, 2007 at 7:01 am
“19. Put one behind a fuse in the fuse box.”
This is a good way to burn down your house. Fuses exist for a reason.
June 26th, 2007 at 7:01 am
[...] 83 Uses for a penny. [...]
June 26th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
You can check the tread wear on your vehicle’s tires. Just insert the penny between the tread, if the top of the Lincoln’s head is visible, it’s time for new tires!
June 27th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
[...] a penny? Here are 83 things you can do with [...]
June 28th, 2007 at 4:06 am
[...] Saving Advice gives a cute list of 83 things you can do with a penny. [...]
July 1st, 2007 at 5:36 pm
You can add one to tulips in a vase and it will prevent them from drooping (really works!).
July 3rd, 2007 at 11:16 am
Put a penny on the top of the needle of a record player to make it follow the groove better.
Bears repeating; Please do NOT put one in your fusbox!!
July 7th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
About the fusebox … as indicated, these suggestions were taken from SavingAdvice forum readers. I didn’t test each one and apologize if someone contributed an unsafe activity. Sounds like the fusebox is no place for a penny!!
July 30th, 2007 at 4:44 am
NEVER give to a todler to use for anything. Bet you (a penny) you’ll soon be missing a few. Too easily swallowed.
Also, what about using it for table top football. A great time killer, especially at a restaurant (w/o tablecloths)
July 30th, 2007 at 7:15 am
I convert pennies into nickles, dimes, and quarters by using the appropriate amount of cents to round down a cash purchase to the nearest $.05 amount. The resulting “silver” change from the paper money given to the merchant goes into a jar for the grandkids to dip their hand into for some “fun” money when they visit.
July 31st, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Actually, it’s not illegal to deface coinage unless it’s done with fraudulent intent. (e.g. trying to make a dime out of it)
August 6th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Toss several pennies on your each side of your house roof. The copper oxide will remove black roof stains and keep others from appearing. Difficult to do on steep pitched roofs, but this is where it is needed most because you can see so much of the roof.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
My grandfather used to work retail. He would check the till for older coins each night. He had an impressive and valuable collection.
March 25th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Thanks. I needed this page.
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:53 am
[...] 6. We would miss out on a lot of fun. [...]
April 7th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
this is great!
how about this:
try super-gluing a penny to a busy sidewalk. stand on it inconspicuously for about 5 -10 minutes to let the glue dry. then hide and watch the fun as your unsuspecting victims try to pick it up!
September 19th, 2008 at 10:16 am
A PENNY MINTED AFTER 1983 ONLY HAS
20% COPPER IN IT, MAKING 1982 AND
EARLIER WORTH $00.08 TODAY. A PENNY
FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
September 19th, 2008 at 10:41 am
use penny to scratch the burned milk or curry from the sauce pan.Also put a hole and wear it as a pendant.
September 19th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
PLACE A PENNY ON A TABLE,COVER IT WITH A PIECE OF PAPER.USING A PENCIL, RUB THE LEAD VERY FAST ACROSS THE ENTIRE PENNY THAT IS UNDER THE PAPER, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM.SEE THE IMPRINT TRANSFER PERFECTLY TO THE PAPER.YOU CAN EVEN READ THE DATE!
September 19th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
What happen to putting a penny in your penny loafers.. Very entertaining article.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Am curious about nickles, dimes, quarters, pennies, and dollars that I have had for a long time, and wonder if possible to get something concerning ones that I have had since 1961. Please let me know.
May 29th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
How do u snap the penny???
June 29th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
You snap a penny by putting it slightly in between your middle finger and your thumb like when you snap your fingers, than snap. You aim with your elbow, so your fingers end up by your face. It should go flying if you do it correctly.
December 22nd, 2009 at 8:42 pm
I have been entertaining children for many years with pennys. Hold your arm up so that at your elbow is a sort of flat spot. Put a penny there and quickly lower your arm and reach out with your hand to grab the penny before it goes far. It will probably be almost at waist level, so aim there. Once you have that down, add in a penny and keep practicing. Have each penny overlap the other by about half. I can do about 24. Do this in an area where there is room for them to fly around and not hurt anyone.
March 14th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
i have a silver and gold penny
March 28th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
I keep my pennies and change in a large jar with a handle and use it as a weight to exercise with. Everyday it get’s a little heavier.
May 25th, 2010 at 6:19 am
spend it
May 27th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
most of these things were helpful but idk who would be dumb enought to trade a penny 4 a nickel unless the penny was rare