khalidarakate

  In the history of money, there have been several coins for which we've had trouble figuring out their purposes. In 1794, the British minted a penny that was supposed to last just 10 years. The rumor was that it would wear out in 1795. It happened: After 10 years, the coin was still in circulation. In 1802, the British minted a half-penny that was supposed to last 15 years. The rumor was that it would wear out in 1803, and it did. In 1907, the British government minted two pennies that were supposed to last 15 years. The rumor was that they would wear out in 1908, but they didn't. These were just rumors, of course. There was no real reason to think the coins would wear out, and they weren't really designed that way. But people were obdurately insistent that the coins would wear out, and so the rumor began to be repeated nonetheless. The coins were, however, really designed that way. Here's how. The uncirculated coins, which were supposed to be used as currency, had 190...