This American Penny is special because not only is it over 100 years old, it is also covered in alien dust! The penny, which was first released into circulation in 1909, was a special edition in honor of Lincoln’s 100th birthday and last year it was sent on a journey to Mars on board the rover “Curiosity”. The reason for the penny’s unusual journey is actually symbolic as it represents the geologists’ tradition of using a penny as a way of referencing scale in scientific specimens. This picture was taken by the rover’s MAHLI camera and is one of many images captured and beamed back to earth over the past year. So, this is what a penny looks like after being on Mars for 411 days.
You know those times when you glimpse a photograph and you think you know what’s happening in the picture, but then something indefinable about the shot plants a seed of doubt, and you look again, and you find that your first impression was absolutely, utterly, totally wrong?
And that is why this photo is funny, and not tragic.
See the story after the jump.