The U.S. Mint calls our coin a cent, but many people call it a penny. The reason is that so many of our early ancestors came from England (where they still call it a Penny). The first British penny was called a pence & it was made of silver. It was first minted in the 8th century AD & was used until 1797. Then they made a copper penny. It weighed a full oz of copper & was 36 mm in diameter. It is sometimes referred to as a Cartwheel. The idea was that the copper in the coin was supposed to be worth a penny. The Lincoln cent we use now was first minted in 1909. Due to wheat stalks on reverse, it was referred to as a Lincoln wheat cent, or penny. We have had several variations of this coin and a major change is in the works for 2009 when it is 100 years old. I'm not sure if there is a penny's worth of copper in one, but it now costs the U.S. Mint several cents to make one cent. ( not good Business sense ) Many Countries have quit minting a Cent/Penny Most cents/pennies are never used, but stored wherever people keep their loose change. The last year for the wheat stalk cent was 1958, and 2008 is supposed to be last year for the Lincoln design. Some people think that now is a good time to be buying/ saving the cents made from 1909 to 1958, as they will be the last of their kind. Richard Mitchell www.exocoin.com