Large Cent Pry or Twist Tool

Sometimes you need an edge.

Large cent pry or twist tool: cheap and easy to use.

   A firm edge can be used to open the back of an old clock or to pry open a cupboard door. Maybe, you need to wind up a clock or operate a turn. Fat, clumsy fingers just can't get it done.
   No worries, as I think this cent will do it. It is thick and easy to pinch -- just right for fat fingers, but maybe not clumsy ones. Once you get a firm pinch going, just pry or twist. Easy.
   It is not a screw driver. The coin metal is too soft for that. A stubborn screw would damage the soft copper point (well, unless you have a gentle touch).

   I enjoy musing about cent tools like this. Just think: a hundred years ago, someone saw the need for this tool. And so, they found a cent lying around and fashioned it for the task. They knew exactly what they wanted: a broad point for some specific task.
   It looks like it was used for several years as the leading edge is smoothly worn. I get the impression that it was held close with a big thumb on the Liberty's face.
   I imagine that this tool sat on a surface right next to the object that needed it: on the mantle by the clock or in the kitchen by the cupboard.

   It's too bad that coins such as this are often ignored. Yet, they have interesting stories of use. I like to think of this cent tool as a token of American Ingenuity. After all, you couldn't just go down to the corner hardware store in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Besides, why pay two bits for a tool you can make for a penny.
   You make do.