What is the origin of superstition in Britain that finding a penny on the floor is a lucky sign?

Luck is a strange thing that we believe in. Its existence is completely abstract but we can feel it working around us every day. So, it is natural that a number of superstitions are based on this construct of luck. One very prominent superstition among those is that finding a penny on the floor is a lucky sign. People from many countries believe in this superstition and its origin can be traced back to a few different stories.

Origin of the Superstition

The first known origin came from the fact that centuries ago, people used to believe that metal was a gift from God, so finding metal was supposedly a gift from God to protect men from evil.

Life isn’t always fair and these superstitions are a way of explaining to ourselves how the world works. From metals being our protectors from evil is evolved over the ages to metals being lucky for us. Over the ages, the metal turned into pennies and we ended up with this superstition.

There was an old tale about brides keeping a silver sixpence in their shoes while getting married for a bright and prosperous future. Since finding silver sixpence lying around is highly unlikely people turned this superstition into the present one with pennies. Usually, that is how superstitions work; they get molded and redefined throughout the years and we see the final iteration in our present day.

In a world filled with negative and dark superstitions, this is a ray of hope. Just a simple penny is not really worth much to anyone, but if finding it can bring some hope in someone’s life then the world is a better place for having this superstition, and we can all agree that finding a penny lying on the ground feels great and that is all which matters.