Penny In The Hole
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Pitch penny (also called Penny seat, Penny slot, Tossing the penny, and Penny in the hole) is a
pub game A pub game is one which is traditionally played inside or outside a pub or bar. Most pub games date back many years and are rooted in village culture. Many derive from older outdoor sports. Pub games can be loosely grouped into throwing games, d ...
. It involves throwing coins across the room and into a hole carved in the seat of a wooden bench.Pitching disc games - History and Useful Information
James Masters
A similar game is
Toad in the Hole Toad in the hole or sausage toad is a traditional English dish consisting of sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter, usually served with onion gravy and vegetables. Historically, the dish has also been prepared using other meats, such as rump ste ...
in which a dedicated table or box is used instead of a hole carved in a convenient piece of pub furniture. Toad in the Hole has a World Championship held in
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
.


History

A version of the game called Chuck-Farthing was played in the United Kingdom.World Wide Words
- Chuck Farthing, Michael Quinion, June 16, 2007
Mentions of the game date back to the 18th century. ''A Little Pretty Pocket-book'', John Newbery, 1744 The rules of the game were described in the 19th century as follows: Each competitor starts with the same number of coins. They pitch their coins one at a time from a mark at a given distance towards a hole in the ground. The competitors are ranked based on how close they come to the hole. The competitor closest to the hole receives all of the coins and proceeds to a second mark nearer to the hole, from which he throws all of the coins at once towards the hole. All of the coins that remain in the hole are his to keep. The remainder of the coins are given to the next closest competitor, and the process is repeated until no coins remain.The Traditional Children's Games of England Scotland & Ireland In Dictionary Form - Volume 1
Alice Bertha Gomme, 1894.
A variation of the game called Chuck-Hole or Chuck-Penny was played in the same manner, with the exception that if the coins roll outside a ring drawn around the hole, it was declared a "dead heat," and each competitor reclaims his coin. The coins used were usually small denomination,
farthing Farthing or farthings may refer to: Coinage *Farthing (British coin), an old British coin valued one quarter of a penny ** Half farthing (British coin) ** Third farthing (British coin) ** Quarter farthing (British coin) *Farthing (English coi ...
s, halfpence, or
pennies A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...
. Sometimes rough-cast leaden markers called ''dumps'' were used.


Popular culture

Pitching Pennies is featured at the beginning of the hit film "
The Purple Rose of Cairo ''The Purple Rose of Cairo'' is a 1985 American fantasy romantic comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, and Danny Aiello. Inspired by the films ''Sherlock Jr.'' (1924) and '' Hellzapoppin (1941) ...
" (1985) and at the end of the film "
The Cincinnati Kid ''The Cincinnati Kid'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Norman Jewison. It tells the story of Eric "The Kid" Stoner, a young Depression-era poker player, as he seeks to establish his reputation as the best. This quest leads him to chal ...
" (1965).


See also

* Quarters, a drinking game which involves players bouncing a quarter off a table and into a glass or cup on that table


References

*Finn, Timothy: ''Pub Games of England'' (Oleander Press) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitch Penny Pub games Coin games Precision sports