There's all kinds of variations throughout the years as the style of the coins change. Old pennies have the wheat pictured on the back and are called 'wheat pennies'. During World War II, the government needed the materials in pennies to create bullets, armor, vehicles, etc. So, they used steel to make pennies for a few years, resulting in a penny that was a bright, silver color. Eventually, they switched the wheat on the back of the coin to its present-day state with the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the coin.
I was always interested in the dates and condition of the coins. I know that the better condition coins are always worth more to a collector, but at the same time, I always thought it was pretty neat when a coin had a mark on it, was partially smashed, discolored, etc. I always wondered what happened to that coin during its life that would cause that to happen.
I would also look at the dates of the coins. For example, I might look at a coin that said '1973' and be amazed that the penny I was holding was actually older than I was. I might look at a penny from the 1960s and know that penny was created before JFK was even president. I'd just play games in my head thinking of what that penny (or other coin) had been around to 'see'.
Also, there's a small letter just below the date on the penny. It's usually a 'D' or a 'P'. This letter is a code used to signify where the penny was minted. 'D' stands for the Denver, Colorado mint and 'P' stands for the Philadelphia mint. There may be other letters used, but these are the two places that have been minting pennies for many years.
I still take time every now and then to reach into my pocket and see what I have as far as pennies go. Obviously, the pennies can come from anywhere and anytime and somehow end up in your pocket through one transaction or another. I was looking through my coins and found one from 1981. First thing that came to mind was that penny was around for President Reagan's entire 8 years in office (1981-1988). Next was one from 1993. I graduated from high school that year. Final one was from 2000. Easy one there. That penny has been around for my whole married life.
Then I realized that 2007 will obviously hold special significance because my first kid's going to be born that year. This lead me to a further realization. My kid is going to be born after all these pennies that I've been looking at up to this point. Whew, I'm getting old.
