1948 Canada Encased Lucky Penny "Keep Me and Never Go Broke!" Eaton's Department Store

1948 Canada Encased Lucky Penny "Keep Me and Never Go Broke!" Eaton's Department Store

Lucky pennies like this were popular midcentury baubles, often bought as souvenirs or handed out as advertisements. Centring a penny encased in a base metal ring, the exterior frame usually wishes the bearer good luck. This example reads "Keep Me and Never Go Broke!" -- technically true -- and advertises Eaton's, the landmark department store chain that operated across Canada from 1869 to 1999. Amusingly, the tagline on this penny dubs Eaton's "The Store for Young Canadians" -- the very thing that would be its undoing as, through the rest of the century, Eaton's would continually fail to wrestle young Canadians away from its competition.