Today we celebrate Lost Penny Day. This day is observed annually on February 12th.
Even though pennies may not seem like they are worthless, they are still worth something especially to help those in need because every penny counts and it makes a dollar.
The first penny was designed by Benjamin Franklin and was minted in 1787. The first minted penny in 1909 was adorned with the late American president Abraham Lincoln and was released on February 12th to commemorate the anniversary of his birth.
Today, celebrate this day by going through your dresser, your purse, or any hidden pockets in your pants and find some pennies. Collect them in a jar, and you will be surprised how much you collected. You can also teach your children the value of a penny, to start saving them, showing them the value of money no matter how small they are. Share on social media a photo of a jar of a penny if you have one on your stash using #LostPennyDay.
1809 Abraham Lincoln is born
Future president Abraham Lincoln is born in Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809.
Lincoln, one of America’s most admired presidents, grew up a member of a poor family in Kentucky and Indiana. He attended school for only one year, but thereafter read on his own in a continual effort to improve his mind. As an adult, he lived in Illinois and performed a variety of jobs including stints as a postmaster, surveyor, and shopkeeper, before entering politics. He served in the Illinois legislature from 1834 to 1842 and in Congress from 1847-1849 and then became an attorney. In 1842, Lincoln married Mary Todd; together, the pair raised four sons.
Lincoln returned to politics during the 1850s, a time when the nation’s long-standing division over slavery was flaring up, particularly in new territories being added to the Union. As the leader of the new Republican Party, Lincoln was considered politically moderate, even on the issue of slavery. He advocated the restriction of slavery to the states in which it already existed and described the practice in a letter as a minor issue as late as 1854. In an 1858 senatorial race, as secessionist sentiment brewed among the southern states, he warned, a house divided against itself cannot stand. He did not win the Senate seat but earned national recognition as a strong political force. Lincoln’s inspiring oratory soothed a populace anxious about southern states’ secessionist threats and boosted his popularity.
(excerpted from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/abraham-lincoln-is-born)
