1¢ Cowboy

Best penny every spent

For 1¢, you can be a cowboy for a minute.  What a deal!  And from the picture, you can tell it was the best penny ever spent.  For $1, you could be a cowboy for over an hour!!  Or you could put in a full 40 hours and become a full-time cowboy for $24 a week.  Although, you may cause a riot with the little kids waiting in line while their parents to pay for groceries.  With a deal like that, no wonder there's lines!

And that got me thinking... what else can I buy for 1¢?  According tot he U.S. Mint, it costs 2.4¢ to make a penny... so you can't even buy a new penny for a penny!  So what CAN you buy?  Penny candy is extremely rare these days, but you might find a colorful gumball or chiclet.  But I'd rather be a cowboy if I'm going to spend that kind of cash.

There are online sites that sell things for 1¢.  eBay has pennies for a penny, although you have to go pick it up.  While you're out, you can also pick up a few other items for a penny... 2 envelopes and a single teabag of green tea.  You can also buy famous recipes for 1¢.  

The best deal I could find on ebay today, is a NICKEL.  For only 1 cent!!  Free shipping, too!  Buy enough of these and you could be rich!   Buy a nickel for a penny on eBay.  Oh, but most of them are already bid on.  So I guess that's more than a penny.

There are some jewelry making supplies that are 1¢... clasps, mostly.  Amazon has some great items like the VHS tape "Dance the Macarena".  You can also buy cheap jewelry for a penny on Amazon.  But wait... these don't come with free shipping... so the total is WAY more than $0.01.

There are a few antique arcade games at the penny arcade... although a penny arcade is even harder to find than penny candy.  The only one I know of is in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

World Famouse Penny Arcade in Manitou Springs

And I hate to burst your bubble, but this is more false advertising.  There are only 1 or 2 games that cose 1¢.  Most of the games cost at least 10¢, and lose their fun after the first time you play them.

Tell you what... give me a dime, and I'll let you spin this monkey in circles.

And the games that are 5¢ are even worse... 5 second peep shows.

**SPOILER ALERT**  More false advertising.  There is nothing lude in these peep machines.  

So, what is the best return on investment for my valuable penny?  Where can I get the most "bang for my buck" ...err "bang for my penny"?  

The savvy investor will invest in being a cowboy for a minute.

For the penny-hater, you can join a group called "Retired the Penny" at http://www.retirethepenny.org.  Although we'll be kicking ourselves when the economy turns around and a penny becomes valuable again...

What else can I buy for a penny?  Please comment if you have any ideas I missed.