Spring 2026 has arrived, and with the season of change comes Field Notes' 70th quarterly edition, “Lucky,” a farewell to the fortuitous penny.

First minted in 1793, the copper one-cent piece graced jean pockets, change jars, coin purses, car floors, cash registers, and the bottoms of wells and fountains with its distinct auburn sheen for over two hundred years. 

While the U.S. Treasury stopped minting pennies last November, 114 billion pennies remain in circulation. They’re not going away immediately.

Copper staples bind 48 pages of 60#T Domtar Cougar Natural inside, ruled in copper with faint mint ledger columns; use those vertical columns to add up your change, to mark off a checklist, or simply ignore them for regular ruled writing.