Ex-Road Ruler, and current-prankster, Jake Bronstein was back on the streets recently. This time he wasn't trying to get laid by wearing a wookie suit on the subway, he was getting strangers lucky!

Putting $50 of pennies to use, he "affixed little messages to the underside (the 'tails' side) using spray adhesive and gobs, and gobs, of patience." What would the lucky penny-picker-upper get? A message saying "It's Your Lucky Day" immediately followed by a plug for Bronstein's website! The penny plug did yield some unsubstantiated facts about the oft cast-aside coin, however:

A lone penny is more likely to be picked up then a penny placed in a group.
People instantly understand what it is you’re doing when you put a penny down… and they smile.
People are almost twice as likely to pick up a penny in Soho than they are in Williamsburg.
Homeless people aren’t nearly as interested in pennies as one might think. In fact, they find them borderline insulting.

More than you ever wanted to know about pennies and Bronstein's "luck-vertizing" scheme, here.