Penny Black printing plates Penny Black printing plates The printing plates for the Penny Black, two pence blue and the VR official were all constructed by Perkins Bacon, the printers of the first postage stamps issued in Great Britain. The construction of these plates was long and complicated, which was intentional so as to make the forgery of the finished article almost impossible. The first stage involved the engraving of a background for the design. This was produced with a rose engine which laid down a circular pattern of symmetrical design onto a piece of soft steel. This was then partly cleared to leave
Take a penny, leave a penny purposely made container, perhaps with an advertisement or with text advising the customer to "take a penny, leave a penny". It is not uncommon to occasionally see nickels, dimes, and even quarters in a penny dish; a cashier short on pennies but nearing the end of their shift may swap one of the higher denomination coins for the equivalent number of pennies, especially if a large number of pennies are present in the dish. Take a penny, leave a penny Take a penny, leave a penny (sometimes Give a penny, take a penny, penny tray, or penny pool) refers to