Normalcy bias stresses the brain causing it to underestimate the possibility of impending disaster and devastating follow up effects. People assume that since a certain disastorus event has never happened in their lifetime it cannot occur. From the slaughter of the Crusades to the genocide in Rwanda we go merrily along the way until finally the bony grip of chaos wraps firmly around our necks. The Jews stayed in Nazi Germany because they were German citizens, Germany had been one of the more progressive nations in Europe regarding its citizens rights, the Jews had been in Germany for centuries, was there any way for the Jews to comprehend the horrors to be visited upon them? After all, this was Germany! Post-Katrina showed clearly New Orleans unwavering trust in the Federal Government and the Army Corps of Engineers as sorely misplaced. Now we see the Federal Reserve buying up United States debt, our debt. Endless debt. Our collective normalcy bias sets the stage for America’s imminent catastrophic failure. Failure to comprehend the impending doom awaiting us as Almighty paper dollar circles the drain of total fiscal insolvency. Oh, that can’t happen here, the home of the Almighty dollar! Consider this. Since the collapse the Bardi & Peruzzi Bank in 1345, the Panic of 1907, to the radically devalued British paper Pound of the mid-70s and Mexico’s currency meltdown in 1995 … historically, no demonetized currency has ever lasted more than 50 years: the American Federal Government demonitized its currency on August 16, 1968. Are you ready for some basic mathematics?  1968 + 50 = 2018. Yes, we are chugging along quite nicely and right on schedule. After all, this is America! Hail Truth!

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The First Copper Penny

The First Copper Penny

The first coin authorized by the new United States Congress was a one-cent coin. Because there was not yet a government mint, more than one version of the coin was struck. The design (believed to be suggested by Franklin) shows the sun and a sundial on the obverse, with the words FUGIO and the date 1787. Centered on the reverse is the motto WE ARE ONE, surrounded by the words UNITED STATES and ringed by a chain with 13 links.

The Year of the Steel

The Year of the Steel

The 1943 steel cent, also known as a steelie, was a variety of the U.S. one-cent coin which was struck in steel due to wartime shortages of copper. Due to wartime needs of copper for use in ammunition and other military equipment during World War II, the US Mint researched various ways to limit dependence and meet conservation goals on copper usage.

The Birth of Big Zinky

The Birth of Big Zinky

When the price of copper rose in 1982, the mint was forced to make a midyear change from solid bronze (about 97% copper) to copper-plated zinc. You can find cents dated 1982 made out of both metals. The only way to reliably tell them apart is to weigh them on a sensitive scale. Copper cents weigh 3.11 gm, zinc ones are 2.5 gm. The last copper penny was minted in Denver on October 22, 1982.