A Pocket Full of Pennies: The Joy of Small Treasures & Trinkets

There was a time, not too long ago (okay, maybe a few decades and several cassette tapes ago), when finding a penny on the ground meant you were basically rich. You’d scoop it up like a tiny copper miracle, whisper “find a penny, pick it up,” and immediately start dreaming of the empire you were about to build.

Spoiler: it bought one sour taffy and maybe a corner of a Bazooka Joe comic—and honestly, that was enough.

We weren’t just collecting coins—we were collecting possibility.

And where did we spend those shiny copper dreams?

At the magical land of wonders known as the Five-and-Dime.

The Five-and-Dime Days

Remember those shops? Where the air smelled like your Grandpa’s shed, bubble gum, and fresh rubber bands—“gum bands,” as Penny used to call them (a Western Pennsylvania thing, maybe?). You’d walk in with 42 cents and walk out with a pocket full of treasure: wax lips, candy buttons, slap bracelets, a tiny frog that wasn’t waterproof (but you still tested it), and maybe—just maybe—a sparkly sticker you’d never dare stick because it was too special.

Sure, there was candy—but it was about the trinkets—those odd little things that made no sense but felt like treasure: a plastic ring, a rubber monster, a novelty eraser shaped like a hamburger.

It wasn’t shopping. It was foraging for joy.

And every penny was a ticket to a sugar-sweet, toy-stuffed adventure.

The Last of the Treasure Chests

No two were quite the same, but every five-and-dime had one thing in common: the thrill of discovering everything you didn’t know you needed. Shoelaces, glitter glue, a kazoo, and a mood ring? All in one squeaky-floored aisle.

Places like Woolworth’s, Ben Franklin, and local corner shops weren’t just stores. They were community treasure chests. You didn’t just run errands—you explored. You begged for slap bracelets and plastic dinosaurs while your parents tried to focus on nails and measuring tape.

Woolworth’s in its heyday—a snapshot of five-and-dime charm from a time when even shopping felt like an adventure.

And those five-and-dime stores—filled with forgotten magic—slowly faded into memory.

The world got louder, faster, more instant.

But the little things? They never stopped whispering.

That thrill of holding something tiny and silly and perfect in your hand?

That still lives on—in drawers, boxes, pockets… and us.

Why the Little Things Still Hit So Big

These days, we can get anything we want—delivered to our door, same-day, with ten color options and a matching coupon code. It's faster, cheaper, and perfectly efficient.

But somewhere along the way, the wonder started to disappear. No more poking around a shelf and stumbling on a surprise. No more giggles over something you didn’t even know you needed. That kind of joy? It’s a little harder to find these days.

Turns out, it wasn’t all about what we brought home—it was the stories those little things helped create.

One of ours? Summers at Penny & Rose’s farm, where Elaine and I would rehearse for hours and then perform our “talent shows” for the grown-ups sitting on the porch, using the front lawn as our stage. We charged a nickel for admission—later raised to a quarter when we got fancy—and we could never get through a show without laughing.

‘On-stage’ at the farm: probably mid-rehearsal, mid-laugh, or mid-negotiation over who got to sing lead. Either way, pure showbiz magic.

Our biggest crowd-pleaser? A cheerleading routine we were absolutely convinced we’d made up ourselves.

Firecracker, firecracker, boom, boom, boom
Firecracker, firecracker, boom, boom, boom
Boys got the muscles
Coaches got the brains
Girls have the sexy legs—
Yay, we won the game!

We choreographed the whole thing—kicks, spins, giggles, and a dramatic finale that usually ended with someone tripping over an errant Jart (remember those? Basically lawn darts with the safety rating of a medieval weapon).

Cousins Lisa and Chris, mid-Jart match. It was all fun and games… until someone nearly took a lawn dart to the ankle.

For years, I genuinely thought we wrote that cheer—chalked it up as one of our finest original works. Turns out, not so much. But hey, ownership is 90% confidence… and a killer high kick.

Those performances may not have been Broadway-worthy, but to us, they were everything—and just successful enough to fund our next big adventure.

One weekend, we took our hard-earned riches to the local five-and-dime and spent every cent on mixed-fruit sweets, a sparkly plastic ring, and a few other tiny treasures that felt like gold.

It’s funny how something so small—like a ring or a piece of candy—can leave a memory that lingers for decades.

From Sweet Finds to Scented Memories

We created our Penny Candy fragrance for scented memories just like this. It’s our ode to trinkets, sidewalk finds, and the fizzy joy of a candy-sweet summer—where every whiff reminds you of something fun, silly, and just a little bit mischievous.

All these years later, I still remember the plastic ring I bought that day—bright, cheap, and utterly perfect. It ended up lost in the grass somewhere… but the sweetness, the laughter, the magic of that moment?

That stuck.

What was your penny candy? The treat or tiny treasure that stuck with you long after the price tag faded? We’d love to hear—drop it in the comments below!