The Giant Penny is a staple of the batcave which is one of Batman's many trophies. It is a gigantic decorative penny with the head of Abraham Lincoln on it and which weighs 216 lbs. The penny's head-side says, "In God we Trust", "Liberty", and the year 1947.
History
Earth-Two (Golden Age)
The penny was originally part of a museum exhibit where it appeared alongside a giant postage-stamp for one penny. When the coin-themed criminal Penny Plunderer tried to rob the exhibit, Batman utilized the rolling penny to take out some of Coynes thugs. After Batman defeated Coyne, Batman confiscated the coin and added it to the trophy room of the Batcave.
New Earth
In Post-Crisis continuity, the penny was hollow and created by Joe Coyne as a Trojan horse to hide inside of in-order to sneak into the Gotham Museum where a rare coin exhibit was being held. Batman and Robin fought the Penny Plunderer but in an accident, Coyne inadvertently knocked over the giant penny causing it to collapse and crush him to death.
Following this, Batman put the penny up in the Batcave. During No Man's Land, the earthquake which struck Gotham lodged the Penny over the Batcave's waterway entrance.
Prime Earth
In the Batman: Zero Year arc, the coin was an art-piece used by Lucius Fox to boost signals past the Riddler's system jammers during Zero Year. After this, Batman kept the penny as a trophy.
Other Giant Decorative Pennies
- The Knight's Base: The Knight's base has a giant British five-pence.
- The Bat's Cave: Man-of-Bats' base in South Dakota has a giant, "Wooden Nickel" modelled after those used as token coins in the early 20th century.
- Batcave West: The Californian Batcave West used as a temporary base of the Outsiders and Batman Incorporated has a giant fake coin with the face of Simon Stagg. Nepotistic, the coin reads, "In Stagg we trust".
- Old Wayne Tower: Batman's apartment on the 13th floor of Old Wayne Tower had a temporary base created from a Court of Owls lair. Of the memorabilia kept, there was a giant decorative coin with the Court of Owls' sigil on it.
In Other Media
The Giant Penny appears in a variety of Batman adaptations, often as a trophy in the Batcave. The coin often appears as a background item, though sometimes serves as a minor plot point or device.
Television
- DCAU: The coin appears in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Almost Got 'Im". Having belonged to Two-Face, he used it in an attempt to kill Batman by tying him to it and letting it flip for his death method: landing tails would break his bones whilst heads would lead to him gunning him down. However, Batman escaped by cutting his bonds with Dent's coin. The GCPD let Batman keep the coin as a keepsake, with it appearing in the Batcave in The New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond and Justice League.
- The Batman: In this show, it was on display at the Gotham Mint when the Ventriloquist & Scarface tried to rob it. Batman used the coin to defeat them and later kept it as a trophy.
- Gotham: A giant penny appears in Penguin's lair in the second season.
Video Games
- LEGO Video Games: The giant penny first appears in the Batcave in LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes onwards. During the level "Unwelcome Guests", it is taken off its hold when Joker uses the Deconstructor on its supports, forcing Batman and Robin to flee. The penny also features in later games, though does not serve any function in either levels or story.
- Batman: Arkham Knight: The giant penny can be found in the game's Batcave challenge map.
Miscellaneous
- Batman '89: The giant penny appears in the first issue of the comic series. Depicted as a ornament for the Lincoln Bank, Batman uses to protect himself from Joker Gang gunfire after foiling their heist. Whilst dealing with the guilt of a youth's death, Bruce Wayne later buys the penny to decorate the Batcave.
