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At the end of the Great Recession, the United States deficit became a looming issue that spanned across news sources and symbolized mismanagement and greed. Americans were told that a very significant portion of this deficit was ‘ours’ and growing exponentially each day.

Yet, as I went through each day, I found at least one discarded penny. So, since August 31, 2009, I have sent my found change daily via certified mail to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (previously the Bureau of the Public Debt), a sector of the Treasury Department whose purpose is to manage the deficit. If by some chance I do not find any change one day, then I send a penny of my own.

I copy the current and previous president on all of my correspondence, archive all of my materials, and maintain a database of the project’s entirety.

Nicole Wilson is an artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY.

Site designed and built by Bryant Wells

Total Amount Sent
$687.56
Total Amount Spent
$33,200.43
Year
17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Month
Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep
Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep

Day 5794

Jul 11

2025

Day 5793

Jul 10

2025

Day 5792

Jul 09

2025

Day 5791

Jul 08

2025

Day 5790

Jul 07

2025

Day 5789

Jul 06

2025

Day 5788

Jul 05

2025

Day 5787

Jul 04

2025

Day 5786

Jul 03

2025

Day 5785

Jul 02

2025

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