FAQs
1: How many pennies does it take to complete a penny portrait?2: That is a lot of pennies! How much will this thing weigh?
3: Why are some pennies darker than others?
4: Are there really four shades of pennies?
5: Will the shades of the pennies I have exactly match the poster?
6: I'm lazy, do I need to glue pennies to this thing?
7: What are the age recommendations for completing a Penny Portrait?
8: How long will this take to complete?
9: Will the poster look as cool as the pics on this site?
10: Are there any tips or tricks to finishing a penny portrait?
11: What is the best place to get pennies?
12: How did you create the Penny Portrait?
13: Who is this product for?
1: How many pennies does it take to complete a penny portrait?
2: That is a lot of pennies! How much will this thing weigh?
A: There are 846 pennies in the 18x24 Penny Portrait. Those are divided as follows:
349 - Shiny new pennies
112 - Lightly used pennies
97 - Well used pennies
288 - Old as dirt pennies
On the plus side, you know your finished work of art will be worth at least $8.46.
3: Why are some pennies darker than others?A: That's a great math question for the kids! A modern penny weighs exactly 2.5 grams, so 846 pennies will weigh a total of 2,115 grams.
One thousand grams = one kilogram, and one kilogram just happens to be the weight of 1 liter of water. (Those metric folks are pretty clever!) With that in mind, the penny portrait weighs about the same as a very full 2 liter of soda. In English units, that equals a little more than 4.5 pounds.
Keep in mind, if you want to frame your penny portrait behind glass, that will add some additional weight, but overall, it shouldn't be too heavy. (Part of the reason we didn't make a 36" x 24" poster!)
As pennies age and are exposed to the elements, they tarnish and get a thin coating called a "patina" that is darker than the original color. Unlike rust, which actually destroys the metal underneath, a patina serves as a protective coating.4: Are there really four shades of pennies?
Tarnished pennies and dirty pennies aren't the same thing. You can wash away dirt, but a tarnished penny will remain that way unless a chemical reaction takes place. (To see an example, combine a tarnished penny with ketchup or vinegar.)
Actually, there are many, many different shades of pennies. We chose to use four shades because we felt it gave a significant amount of detail to the picture without the need to spend all your time sorting pennies.5: Will the shades of the pennies I have exactly match the poster?
To sort pennies, simply split them into two piles (light and dark) and then take each of those piles and do the same thing again.
We made every effort to select colors for the poster that are as close to the pennies you will find in circulation. That said, it is not important that the shades of pennies you own exactly match the colors printed on the poster.6: I'm lazy, do I need to glue pennies to this thing?
In fact, if you can only sort pennies into dark and light you will still get a very effective illusion.
A: Not at all, the poster is a unique work of art as is! Penny Portraits are printed on extremely high quality poster material and are suitable for framing right out of the tube.7: What are the age recommendations for completing a Penny Portrait?
If your kids can work with Elmer's Glue and pennies, (and you trust them not to eat either…) then they are old enough to complete a Penny Portrait! A little bit of hand-eye coordination is involved, but no more so than doing a jigsaw puzzle.8: How long will this take to complete?
If you decide to frame your Penny Portrait, they might want a little help from an adult. It would take some pretty strong magnets to put a penny portrait on the fridge.
Once you have your pennies sorted into four shades, it will take one person 5 to 8 hours to glue all the pennies to the poster. The more people involved, the faster it will go!9: Are there any tips or tricks to finishing a penny portrait?
10: Will the poster look as good as the pics on this site?Start collecting those dark pennies when you find them. You need quite a few and while you can always make pennies shinier with a little chemistry (explained in the included materials) making dark pennies is best done by Mother Nature and time.
The Penny Portrait Kit includes a two-page handout with a number of tips and tricks for sorting pennies as well as putting the final poster together. Don't worry though. At the end of the day, it is as simple as 1. Put glue on penny 2. Put penny on poster.
11: What is the best place to get pennies?It will look even better! A completed penny portrait will shimmer and reflect light making the illusion even more pronounced. A photograph really doesn't do it justice. One neat quality of a finished portrait is that in a dark room with just a little bit of light, the shiny new pennies will make the picture appear to glow!
A: Grandparents! - If that doesn't work, your neighborhood bank will be happy to sell you some. Pennies can be bought in 50 cent rolls.12: How did you create the Penny Portrait?
13: Who is this product for?A: The Penny Portrait image was painstakingly created using historical photos of Abraham Lincoln and countless hours of tinkering at the computer. The final image itself is made up of 846 individual pennies, all of which are the exact same size as pennies from the U.S. mint.
Numerous versions were created including a much larger poster, posters with various shades of pennies, pennies lined up in a straight grid and pennies aligned vertically instead of horizontally. We worked hard to create an image that is both easy to assemble and a convincing optical illusion.
Go to top of pageA: This product is for people who love money and who love America. If you meet either of these qualifications, you should probably buy two just so people don't suspect you of being a communist.