The Portland Penny is the name subsequently given to a specific copper matron head one-cent

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

, used to decide the name of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The City of Portland's two founders, Francis Pettygrove from

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

and Asa Lovejoy from

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, both wanted to name the fledgling site—then known as ''The Clearing''—after their respective home towns. The coin toss was decided in 1845 with two out of three tosses which Pettygrove won. Portland was incorporated in 1851. The coin, minted in 1835, was found in a safe deposit box left behind by Lovejoy and is now on display in the Oregon Historical Society Museum.

Location

Multiple versions of the coin-toss location have been proposed. It is agreed that the event happened in an Oregon City home in 1845. But the exact home was never explicitly stated at the time. Most historians believe the coin toss occurred in the Francis Ermatinger House, the home of

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

Chief Trader Francis Ermatinger. Because of this and the fact that the Ermatinger House is the only remaining house of that early period, it is the site officially used to celebrate the event. Some also theorize that the coin toss occurred in the house of Judge Albert E. Wilson.

References

History of Portland, Oregon One-cent coins of the United States {{Oregon-stub