Why Are Pennies Considered Lucky?

Many believe only heads up pennies are lucky.

We come across pennies every single day. While some of us don't even bother to pick them up if we see them on the ground, others rush to see if the penny is heads up or face down.

Copper and Other Metals

Metals, including copper, were seen as a gift for gods and other deities many centuries ago. They were believed to be a protector against evil, so anyone who had possession of such metal was considered protected, and therefore lucky.

Money

Pennies may not be worth much today, but at one time they had a higher value. Finding money of any kind was lucky; since pennies were found the most often, the legend grew that they were lucky.

Heads Up

Many people believe it's best to find pennies heads up and that finding and picking up tails up penny is unlucky. This is based on Manichaeism, a system of religious doctrines based on a supposed primordial conflict between light and darkness or goodness and evil. Centuries ago people believed in polar opposites of good and evil, body and soul, dark and light. With coins, specifically the lucky penny, heads were seen as good while tails was seen as evil.

References

• NASW: Penny Catechism
• NASW: The Lucky Penny Web
• NASW: Penny Scholasticism
• Real Travel: Fontana di Trevi Review

Resources

• The Lucky Irish Penny