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Lucky Penny Day

Fun · May 23

A day for the humble penny and the old American habit of picking one up off the ground for good luck.

Lucky Penny Day falls on Sunday, May 23, 2027. That is 208 days away.

A penny on the sidewalk is worth one cent, and yet plenty of people stop, bend down and pick it up anyway. Lucky Penny Day is about that small habit and the folk belief behind it: find a penny, pick it up, and good luck follows.

The familiar rhyme goes "find a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck." Some people add a rule that the coin only counts if it lands heads up. Others say a tails-up penny should be flipped over and left for the next person, which is a kind of luck sharing.

The US penny itself is a modest object. It carries Abraham Lincoln's portrait on the front, and modern ones are mostly zinc with a thin copper coating, which is why old pennies can look brown and new ones shine. People tuck them into shoes, jars, wallets and wishing fountains, and some keep a single found penny for years as a quiet token.

Marking the day takes almost nothing. Empty the change jar and look at the dates, or pass a shiny coin to someone who looks like they could use a little luck. Children tend to enjoy a penny hunt more than adults expect, and adults tend to enjoy it more than they admit.

A penny dropped in a fountain stays there until someone cleans it out, and many fountains send those coins to local causes.

Ways to celebrate

• Pick up a penny you spot and keep it in your pocket.
• Leave a heads-up penny somewhere for a stranger to find.
• Sort a change jar and look for the oldest penny.
• Tell someone the lucky penny rhyme and ask their version.
• Toss a penny into a fountain and make a wish.

Dates

All national days on May 23

Also on May 23

• National Taffy Day
• World Turtle Day

Categories: Fun days