Where have you been, what have you seen the last 114 years?

You know the penny dishes originally intended for folks to use a penny or two rather than breaking a dollar bill. You take a few pennies when you need ‘em and leave a few when you have extra.

Sunday at the local c-store, there was a penny in the plastic bin that just looked different than the others. That’s saying something for a guy who’s pretty far-sighted. The penny had seen its travels. On the back side was the telltale sign this was a Lincoln wheat penny, a 1-cent coin minted between 1909 and 1958. They are supposedly worth more because they are, according to an online search, 95 percent copper compared to today’s penny which is 5% copper.

This penny was a 1910 Lincoln wheat penny. The change back from my bladder-buster soda was 78 cents. The three pennies for one exchange seemed reasonable and besides, the cashier didn’t seem to give a hoot. She offered no reaction when told this penny was 114 years old.

Think of everything this world has seen in the past 114 years: Two world wars, the opening of the Panama Canal, the invention of TVs, the internet, the Russian revolution, the modernization of the automobile and trucks, space travel, the Great Depression, “The Star Spangled Banner” becoming the national anthem, prohibition, Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny, The Beatles, The Washington Senators moving to Minnesota, JFK’s inauguration and assassination, war in southeast Asia, a man on the moon, disco music, the cold war, Richard Nixon and Watergate, a team of college kids beat the Soviets, Reagan, Lady Diana, Sandra Day O’Connor, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Chernobyl, the Challenger disaster, MTV and big hair, riots in LA, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, bombing in Oklahoma City, ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ Seinfeld, Friends, Lunchables, Y2K, 9-11, my nephew going off to war, twice, and making it home relatively unscathed both times, and so on . . .

Where has this little penny spent the last 114 years? Sure, it has circulated throughout the economy over the years. It has probably spent time in piggy banks or a change jug. It’s in reasonably good shape and is still legible but is certainly not in mint condition where it might be worth a significant amount of money to a collector. Yes, there are folks who will, and already have, asked me about its value and if I will seek to sell it.

This new addition to the collection will be saved with the 200 or 300 other Lincoln wheat pennies, $2 bills and Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea dollar coins. Nah. To me, anyway, its value rests in its history rather than in its monetary value.

A quick Google search indicated Lincoln wheat pennies were minted in San Francisco. When the kids were younger, we visited San Francisco in the mid-1990s during a returnto-California visit. We lived in Visalia from 1983 to 1987. Nice state to live in but raising children there at the time was out of the question. They didn’t value education and the overall politics was waaaay too right wing.

During our tour of the San Francisco mint, we learned coins generally circulated west of the Mississippi River, including Minnesota, were minted in San Francisco. Coins sent to states east of the Mississippi were minted in Philadelphia. Not sure if that’s still the case.

The history of the take-a-penny, leave-apenny container is beyond my field of knowledge. They’ve probably been around since the 1980s, perhaps? Who knows?

What is really odd is you’ll occasionally see nickels, dimes and even quarters in them Quarters? Since when is 25 cents throw-away change? Is this a product of our throw-away society, where things seemingly only have value if they are of value right now?

Not surprisingly, there’s a change jug at home. Even with rolls of quarters – minted in San Francisco – every payday, it takes a few years to fill up a five-gallon jug. And when it’s finally full, that’s the fun part.