A line of pennies from shiniest to darkest, the year written under eachPennies, 12. Sort by eye under one lamp and glue them in that order. Then read the dates: is the darkest the oldest?
Rows that alternate heads and tails, a pattern of texturePennies, 30. Lay one row heads side up, the next tails side up. From a step back the rows differ in texture.
A piggy bank drawn in outline and packed full of penniesPennies, 30. Draw the pig large, glue coins along the outline first and fill inward. Draw the slot on its back.
A beehive: pennies packed in a hexagon with paper bees on topPennies, 37. Each ring around the center coin adds six more than the last: six, twelve, eighteen.
A coaster of pennies packed like honeycomb under clear gluePennies, 19. Put one in the middle, six around it and twelve around those, then flood the top with clear glue.
A copper rose: rings of pennies overlapped in a spiralPennies, 30. Glue one in the center and lap each next coin half over the last, winding outward.
A crowd of heads-up pennies, each given a drawn collar and a hatPennies, 9. Glue them heads side up in rows of three and draw a collar and a different hat on each.
A drawn purse with real pennies spilling out of its open mouthPennies, 8. Draw the purse on its side, glue one coin half inside the opening and trail the rest away from it.
A drawn wishing well with a heap of pennies glued at the foot of its shaftPennies, 10. Draw the well cut open from the side so the shaft shows, and overlap the coins in a heap at the bottom.
A foot ruler: sixteen pennies glued in a touching row on a strip of cardPennies, 16. Each is three quarters of an inch across, so sixteen touching in a straight line measure one foot.
A fox in bright pennies with dark ones for ears and feetPennies, 2 shades. Sort before gluing: the shiniest coins make the coat and the brownest the tips.
A frame with one row of pennies around a photo, every head facing inPennies, 1 row. Lay them heads side up around the card and turn each so the portrait looks toward the picture.
A heart laid in alternating heads and tailsPennies, 24. Draw the heart, set coins along the line first and flip every second one before the glue sets.
A leaf outline packed with pennies, every vein a coin-free linePennies, 35. Draw the leaf and its veins on dark card and keep every coin clear of the vein lines.
A penny-farthing bicycle: a big ring of coins and a small onePennies, 2 rings. Draw around a plate and a jar lid, lay coins along both circles and paint the frame between.
A piggy bank drawn in outline and packed full of penniesPennies, 30. Draw the pig large, glue coins along the outline first and fill inward. Draw the slot on its back.
A ring of tails that alternates Memorial backs with shield backsPennies, 12. Sort by the back: the Memorial is on 1959 to 2008 coins, the shield on 2010 and later. Glue them in turn.
An owl whose breast feathers are pennies overlapped like shinglesPennies, 20. Start at the bottom of the chest and let each row cover the top half of the row below.
Rubbings and prints 15
A crayon caterpillar: one penny rubbed again and again, half a coin apartPennies, 1. Rub once, slide the coin half a width along under the paper and rub again in a new crayon.
A daisy of penny rubbings, each petal rubbed in a different crayonPennies, 1. Rub the middle first in yellow, then move the coin so each petal just touches it.
A drawn train that rolls on penny-rubbing wheelsPennies, 1. Rub a row of evenly spaced wheels first and draw the engine and cars sitting on them.
A money tree: a drawn trunk with rubbings as its leavesPennies, 1. Draw the bare branches first, slip the coin under the paper at the end of each and rub in green.
A page border made by rubbing one penny over and over, heads then tailsPennies, 1. Work around the paper one coin width at a time and alternate heads and tails.
A page of dates: only the year of each penny rubbed and labeledPennies, 10. Rub the heads side lightly with a sharp pencil and write where each coin turned up.
A paper medal: one crayon rubbing cut out and glued to a ribbon loopPennies, 1. Rub in orange or gold crayon, cut around the circle and glue it to a folded length of ribbon.
A robot drawn in pen with penny rubbings for its rivets and dialsPennies, 1. Draw the body in boxes and rub a coin at every corner and one large dial on the chest.
A sheet of crayon rubbings in rows, heads then tailsPennies, 2. Lay thin paper over the coin, hold it still and rub with the side of a peeled crayon.
A wax-resist page: white crayon rubbings that appear under a washPennies, 2. Rub with white crayon on white paper, then brush thin paint across. The coins come up pale.
Circles traced around a penny and colored where they overlapPennies, 1. Trace it twenty times with every circle crossing another and color each shared sliver.
Clay medallions pressed with a pennyPennies, 1, and air-dry clay. Roll a ball, flatten it, press the coin in face down and lift it straight out.
Dragon scales built from rows of half-hidden rubbingsPennies, 1. Rub a row, then cover its top half with paper and rub the next row so each coin peeks out.
Open coins: a head and a tail rubbed side by side as pairsPennies, 3. Rub the front, flip the same coin, rub the back beside it and label the year under the pair.
Silver coins of kitchen foil pressed over a pennyPennies, 1. Lay foil on the coin, rub it with a fingertip until the design shows and cut around the circle.
Patterns by shade 15
A flower whose petals alternate bright and darkPennies, 2 shades. Make each petal from three coins in a line and switch shade from one petal to the next.
A giant numeral 1 in bright pennies on a dark ground, for one centPennies, 2 shades. Plan the numeral on squared paper, one square for each coin, and copy it row by row.
A giant penny: Lincoln's profile in dark coins on a round bright fieldPennies, 2 shades. Draw a big circle, copy the profile from a coin in pencil and fill it with the darkest coins first.
A line of pennies from shiniest to darkest, the year written under eachPennies, 12. Sort by eye under one lamp and glue them in that order. Then read the dates: is the darkest the oldest?
A shade chart with labeled columns: new, worn, brown, darkPennies, 4 shades. Glue three coins in each column and write the years under them to compare.
The brightest and the darkest penny in the jar, framed with their datesPennies, 2. Sort the whole jar under one lamp, keep the two ends of the line and write each year under its coin.
Diamonds of dark pennies set into a bright backgroundPennies, 2 shades. Offset each row by half a coin so the diamonds come out with stepped edges.
The Lincoln Memorial off the penny's back: bright columns, a dark roofPennies, 2 shades. Copy the building from a 1959 to 2008 coin: a dark base, upright bright columns, a dark roof on top.
Rows of pennies offset like bricks, one row bright and the next darkPennies, 2 shades. Lay a bright row, then a dark row shifted half a coin along, and repeat to the top.
Rows that alternate heads and tails, a pattern of texturePennies, 30. Lay one row heads side up, the next tails side up. From a step back the rows differ in texture.
Tumbling blocks: three shades arranged so cubes seem to stand outPennies, 3 shades. Fill each diamond of a cube pattern with one shade: bright tops, mid left sides, dark right sides.
Twins of one year: a bright penny and a brown one with the same datePennies, 2. Search a jar for two coins of one year that differ most in shade and mount them side by side.
Two rows split at 1982: the older pennies in one, the newer in the otherPennies, 10 of each. Leave out 1982 itself, when both metals were struck, and compare the shades of the two rows.
Two wheat ears in bright coins, one up each side, as on a wheat pennyPennies, 2 shades. Fill a board with dark coins and swap in bright ones up both sides, as on a 1909 to 1958 back.
The Union Shield off the penny's back: striped coins under one dark bandPennies, 2 shades. Copy the shield from a 2010 or later coin: one dark band across the top, stripes in turn below it.
Framed years and keepsakes 15
A birth-year penny framed beside a baby photographPennies, 1. Find a coin with the year, glue it to the mat below the photo and write the full date beside it.
A birthday card with the birth year's penny showing through a windowPennies, 1. Cut a round window in the card front and tape the coin behind it, then write the age inside.
A calendar page where the birthday is marked with a birth-year pennyPennies, 1. Draw the month as a grid and glue the coin on the day's square in place of a circle.
A family row: one penny for each person's birth year, oldest firstPennies, 1 for each person. Glue them heads side up in a line on card and write a name under each.
A penny for every birthday so far, glued along a drawn rulerPennies, 1 for each birthday. Draw a ruler with a mark for each age and glue that year's coin at each mark.
A penny for the year each pet arrived, under its paw printPennies, 1 for each pet. Ink or draw the paw print on card, glue the coin under it and add the name.
A penny for the year the family moved in, on a drawing of the housePennies, 1. Draw the front of the house and glue the coin where the house number would go.
A pocket piece: one penny set in a bottle cap under clear gluePennies, 1, and 1 cap. Glue the coin in the hollow, year side up, and fill the cap level with clear glue.
A postcard from a trip with a penny found on the way taped to itPennies, 1. Tape the coin heads side up in a corner of the card and write the place and the month beside it.
A shadow box of one year: its penny, a ticket and a photographPennies, 1. Glue the coin at the top as the title of the box and arrange the paper pieces under it.
A timeline of one penny from every decade found in a jarPennies, 1 for each decade. Sort a jar of change by year and keep the best coin from each ten years.
The backs of the penny side by side: wheat, Memorial, a 2009 scene, shieldPennies, 4. Glue them tails side up in date order and letter the years each design was made under it.
The oldest penny in the jar, framed with a note of where it turned upPennies, 1. Check every date in the jar, keep the earliest and write the find on a card under the coin.
Three pennies for three years: born, started school, todayPennies, 3. Mount them in a row with a word under each and leave space to the right for a fourth.
Two birth-year pennies in one frame: yours and a friend'sPennies, 2. Glue the coins side by side on card, heads side up, and write a name and a year under each.
How it works
A penny is a copper-colored disc with a date on it. These 60 coin art ideas use its size for mosaics, its raised design for rubbings, its range from shiny to dark brown for patterns, and its year for keepsakes.
Read the full guide
Every coin stays whole
Pennies here are glued flat, taped or rubbed over with a crayon. Nothing is cut, drilled, bent or melted. A penny is three quarters of an inch across, so sixteen in a row measure a foot, and a square foot laid in straight rows takes 256.
A coin art and craft idea that uses no glue: rubbing
Lay thin paper over a penny, hold it still and rub with the side of a crayon. The raised portrait and the date come up on the paper. Most of the Rubbings and prints group builds on that one move.
Sort by shade under one lamp, so every coin is judged in the same light.
With heads showing, the year can be read. With tails showing, the design tells roughly when the coin was made.
Questions and answers
What are simple art ideas using coins?
Rubbings. A sheet of crayon rubbings in rows, a crayon caterpillar or a drawn train on penny-rubbing wheels takes one coin, paper and crayons, and the coin goes back in the jar afterward.
How many pennies does a mosaic take?
Sixteen to the foot in a straight row, since each is 0.75 inches across, and 256 to a square foot. Small pieces take far fewer: 19 for a honeycomb coaster and 37 for the beehive.
What is on the back of a penny?
It depends on the year: two wheat heads from 1909 to 1958, the Lincoln Memorial from 1959 to 2008, one of four scenes in 2009 and the Union Shield from 2010. One keepsake here frames all four kinds side by side.
Are pennies still being made?
Only for collector sets. The Mint suspended making pennies for circulation in November 2025. Coins in jars and drawers supply these ideas; a keepsake for a year after 2025 needs a coin from a collector set.