Common Cents Mission: Common Cents, creator of the Penny Harvest, nurtures a new generation of caring and capable young people between the ages of four and 24 by enabling them to strengthen their communities through philanthropy and service-learning.

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Call us at 212-PENNIES - Common Cents New York is dedicated to advancing social justice and equal opportunity by emboldening a generation of young people to become community activists and good citizens during their youth.
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What's New at Common Cents and the Penny Harvest
18th Annual Penny Harvest Kicks-off!
Over 1,000 schools nationwide and nearly 500,000 students are currently participating in the Penny Harvest. Click here to read more.

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DID YOU KNOW?

$711,394.58

Nationwide students in 807 schools gathered $711,394.58 in pennies during the 06/07 school year.

A Pretty Penny

The most valuable pennies known to exist were minted in 1793, and the only four known to exist today are worth $275,000 each.

Award winner!

Common Cents won the NY1 New Yorker of the year award for 2007.
» learn more

Child Philanthropy

The Penny Harvest is the largest child philanthropy program in the United States

Copper?

Pennies made from 1793 to 1837 were pure copper. Today the alloy is 97.5% zinc and only 2.5% copper.

Faces on coins

In 1909, President Lincoln appeared on a one-cent coin and became the first real person—as well as the first American president—to have his face appear on a regular-issue American coin.

Facing right

Why does the portrait of Abraham Lincoln face to the right when all of the other presidents' portraits face to the left? Lincoln faces right not because of a law, but simply because Lincoln happened to face right in the image Brenner used to design the coin.

More pennies

There are more one-cent coins produced than any other denomination

Penny Designs

There have been 11 different designs featured on the penny.

Students' Self-worth

100% of teachers surveyed this year agreed that participation in the Penny Harvest increases students’ self-worth as well as increasing students’ empathy for the needs of others.

Then and now

The image on the first cent was of a lady with flowing hair, who symbolized liberty. The coin was larger and made of pure copper, while today's smaller penny is made of copper and zinc.

What’s in a name?

The proper term for a once cent coin is "one cent piece," but in common usage this coin is often referred to as a penny or cent. Many times, even the Treasury Department and the United States Mint use the term penny because that is what is normally referred to in general use by the public.

 
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