Pennies around the world

As I mentioned in my last post, my son Alex is in Europe right now, and before he left, I sent  list of things he had to do while abroad, including throwing a penny into the Trevi Fountain for good luck. Yearly, thousands of American travelers throw pennies into this fountain, as if to say, "I was here and am leaving a little piece of me with you."

This got me thinking about all of the times I have traveled to foreign lands and ended up with a pocket full of coins that never managed to get exchanged back to american currency. If I have change from around the world, then chances are thousands of people that have visited the United States probably have left with some of our change, including pennies. Where pennies are potentially worth a fraction of a cent other places, my guess is that pennies can be found in change jars, scrapbooks, and souvenir boxes across the globe. It is my hope that when these guests stumble across their American change, that it brings a smile to their face to remind them of their time in our country.