# Portland Penny

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The **Portland Penny** is the name subsequently given to a specific copper [matron head](/source/Matron_Head) one-cent [coin](/source/Coin), used to decide the name of [Portland, Oregon](/source/Portland,_Oregon). The City of Portland's two founders, [Francis Pettygrove](/source/Francis_Pettygrove) from [Portland, Maine](/source/Portland,_Maine) and [Asa Lovejoy](/source/Asa_Lovejoy) from [Boston, Massachusetts](/source/Boston,_Massachusetts), both wanted to name the fledgling site—then known as *The Clearing*—after their respective home towns. The coin toss was decided in 1845[1] with two out of three tosses which Pettygrove won.[2][3] Portland was incorporated in 1851.[4]

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](/source/Oregon_Historical_Society_Museum).[5]

## Location

Multiple versions of the coin-toss location have been proposed. It is agreed that the event happened in an [Oregon City](/source/Oregon_City,_Oregon) 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](/source/Francis_Ermatinger_House), the home of [Hudson's Bay Company](/source/Hudson's_Bay_Company) Chief Trader [Francis Ermatinger](/source/Francis_Ermatinger).[6][7] 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.[7]

Some also theorize that the coin toss occurred in the house of Judge [Albert E. Wilson](/source/Albert_E._Wilson).[7]

## References

1. ["Historic Portland"](http://www.pdxhistory.com/html/historic_portland.html). Pdx History. Retrieved 2008-03-14.

1. ["Portland History—The Town that was Almost Boston"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110101150705/http://www.travelportland.com/media/history.html). [Travel Portland](/source/Travel_Portland). Archived from [the original](http://www.travelportland.com/media/history.html) on 2011-01-01. Retrieved 2008-03-14.

1. Orloff, Chet. ["Francis Pettygrove (1812-1887)"](http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/pettygrove_francis_1812_1887_/). *[The Oregon Encyclopedia](/source/The_Oregon_Encyclopedia)*. Portland State University. Retrieved May 17, 2014.

1. ["Welcome to PdxHistory.com"](http://www.pdxhistory.com/index.html). Pdx History. Retrieved 2008-03-14.

1. Annear, Steve (January 24, 2014). ["If Not for a Coin Toss, Portland, Ore., Would Have Been Called Boston"](http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2014/01/24/coin-toss-portland-called-boston/). Boston Magazine.

1. ["Museums, Historic Sites & Transportation"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060518091413/https://www.mthoodterritory.com/presskit/museums.htm). Mt. Hood Territory. Archived from [the original](http://www.mthoodterritory.com/presskit/museums.htm) on 2006-05-18. Retrieved 2009-09-09.

1. ["Portland History—The Town that was Almost Boston"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110101150705/http://www.travelportland.com/media/history.html). Travel Portland. Archived from [the original](http://www.travelportland.com/media/history.html) on 2011-01-01. Retrieved 2009-09-09.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Portland Penny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Penny) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Penny?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.