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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 5875

Sep 30

2025

Day 5874

Sep 29

2025

Day 5873

Sep 28

2025

Day 5872

Sep 27

2025

Day 5871

Sep 26

2025

Day 5870

Sep 25

2025

Day 5869

Sep 24

2025

Day 5868

Sep 23

2025

Day 5867

Sep 22

2025

Day 5866

Sep 21

2025

Next
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