… but at least I no longer worry I’m some sort of felon for de-godding some coins.
Take a look on eBay for “Cross Pennies”. I’ll try some links here, but they may break once the auctions are over.
You can buy a penny with a cross punched out of it… for a dollar. Or fifty of them, for $14.99. Or 100 of them, for $48.00 (different groups, different pricing). One penny and a prayer for $1.69. Or if you want a heartstring-tugging tag, a “2001 Lincoln Penny Cent Christian Cut Cross Memorabilia For 9-11 To Never Forget”.
There is also (not on eBay) a “cross pennies ministries”
You may have seen them lying around or given to you by complete strangers. Either way, these cross pennies have been used all over the world by missionaries and witnessers alike to spread the Word of Christ! The penny is the least of our coins in America and to many people, it is almost worthless. Though some find it hard to believe that something with such a small monetary value can mean so much just by stamping a cross into it, we as Christians find endless worth because through the witnessing that has resulted from it, lives have been added into the kingdom of GOD!
Actually, they have taken something of monetary value and made certain it is monetarily worthless, by punching a cross out of the middle of it. At least these people appear to charge only one cent per cross penny… well, that plus shipping. A flat rate of $5.50 per 1500 pennies. Compared to eBay, this is a deal!
So, while they are charging for nearly worthless coins rendered useless as change, my godless dollars are fully functional and making their way into the pockets of people who, if they find themselves offended by the coins… can spend them just as easily as any other dollars.
Hell, they can even use one to buy a penny with a cross-shaped hole in it… though they may have to chip in a bit more for shipping.
People have been turning American coins into something with no monetary value for well over a century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elongated_coin
Can you get Islamised pennies with a crescent and 5-point star punched out? Or Judaicised ones with a 6-point star? It might be fun to advertise some Christianised ones and then ‘accidentally’ send the buyer some of the other ones in there:-)
At any rate, it might be worth pointing out that in America, and almost certainly where I live, the penny is already a net negative on the economy – it costs more to make than its face value, so one shouldn’t be too bothered about them being routinely rendered valueless; it might hasten the day when they are withdrawn. CGP Grey has a splendid rant, if you haven’t seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5UT04p5f7U
But in the meanwhile, davidhart, each penny that needs to be replaced is costing more than a penny to replace! Taking those “nearly worthless” pennies out of circulation makes money for the seller, but costs the government!
Me, I cost them nothing.
Supposedly some guy has cornered the market on the nickel in hopes that the US drops the two smallest-denomination coins, making it possible to sell all that stockpiled metal for more than its face value.
Seems to me like (as my sainted grandmother would say) it’s a lot of sugar to expect for a nickel.
Weird. Reminds me of all the strange penny abuse I saw as a kid. I may even still have some pennies with the masonic symbol stamped into them, and at least one railroad-flattened penny with Teh Loardz Prair embossed.