Penny Lilac of the Penny Lilac was adapted from that used for revenue stamps in Britain from the early 1860s. In that respect it represented a break with 40 years of tradition in postage stamp design. Its predecessors (the Penny Black, the Penny Red and the Penny Venetian Red) all had rectangular designs. The use of the colour lilac for low value definitives was extended in 1884 when other low-value stamps were issued in lilac, with green then being used for higher-value stamps. The Penny Lilac was a surface-printed stamp and was issued in two forms: Penny Lilac stamps are often found
Penny debate in the United States Penny debate in the United States A debate exists within the United States government, and American society at large, over whether the one-cent coin, commonly called the penny, should be eliminated as a unit of currency in the United States. Several bills introduced in the U.S. Congress would have ceased production of pennies, but none has been approved. Such bills would leave the nickel, at five cents, as the lowest-value coin in the United States. In 1990, United States Representative Jim Kolbe [R-AZ] introduced the Price Rounding Act of 1989, H.R. 3761 to eliminate the penny in cash transactions, rounding