The Big Zinky Coin!

Big Zinky is a pecuniary circus of thought exploring the very real differences between free money & BANK CURRENCY. In homage to American Hard Times tokens of the 1800’s Big Zinky & kirkus obscura have minted a UNC Business Strike Hard Times Token offered for the Modern Age.

Click A Coin Side For A More Detailed View

2011 Big Zinky 100% COPPER Large Cent sized 1/100 blue-E Hard Times Token, 1.073 inches in diameter and weighing in at 8 grams (28 grams to an ounce). Struck in 2011 by Big Zinky in an effort to begin and support discussions regarding the MONSTER-MEGA-BANK bailouts, the collapse of the American housing market & Her middle class, an American job market in the tank, the out-sourcing of American jobs overseas, endless DEBT piled high on the backs of our children and our seeming ability to sit in comfortable chairs, watching from the sidelines as our Dear, Great Republic hemorrhages blood and begins to look more & more like a Third World nation.

Hail the Republic, let us be vigilant in our efforts to protect Her from enemies both Foreign & Domestic. Hail Her Constitution!
May Peace reign, let honest, truthful discourse begin.

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.