PENNIES FROM HEAVEN

One common hypothesis is that if one were to drop a penny from a great height, such as the Empire State Building, it would be as lethal as a bullet should it strike someone on the ground. Well, would it? Unlikely, unless you can do the experiment in a vacuum. Because of the shape of the coin and its low mass (about 2.5 grams), it would quickly be affected by the air and achieve a terminal velocity (i.e. the velocity where it stops accelerating due to the resistance of the atmosphere) at only about 25 mph (40 kph). Rifle bullets, on the other hand, usually have muzzle velocities exceeding 1700 mph (2700 kph) and are generally configured to minimize air resistance.

In 1964, I tested the penny hypothesis by tossing out a cent from the crown of the Statue of Liberty. Instead of plummeting straight down, the coin kept flipping over and over and leisurely descended with a gentle curve to the right.

In recounting this tale from my misspent youth, I am not advocating that others experiment by throwing money from tall structures. I am older (and marginally wiser) and realize that some coins, such as this one, could inflict injury if dropped from high altitudes.

Speaking about the effect of air on coin trajectories, some cowboy movies and books feature sadistic gunslingers loading a black-powder shotgun using silver dimes instead of pellets on the theory that they will be able to inflict unusually grievous injury with the money shot. Based on the reports by those who have tried the dime experiment* (at least those who have tried it and not have had the shotgun blow up in their hands), a load of dimes can cause serious carnage against a target. Unlike our previously-mentioned penny, the dimes are traveling at speeds far in excess of terminal velocity when they leave the barrel. While the presence of air will quickly slow them down (as well as cause them to veer in unpredictable trajectories), they would be devastating at short ranges. However, unless you are hunting for werewolves, the dimes are probably not as effective or accurate (or as cheap) as regular buckshot.

*Notwithstanding the availability of Youtube videos on employing unusual projectiles in a shotgun, I cannot endorse the concept of experimenting with homemade firearm loads unless you really, really know what you are doing, as the aforementioned grievous injury (i.e. death, blindness, or maiming) will be inflicted on the shooter from the slightest miscalculation--especially with modern high-pressure smokeless nitrocellulose-based powder.