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Origin documented
“Turn up like a bad penny”
What it means
To reappear when unwanted.
Where it comes from
A counterfeit or clipped penny was worth passing on rather than keeping, so it circulated freely. Sooner or later it came back to whoever had tried to be rid of it.
How sure are we?
Attested from the eighteenth century, when clipping and counterfeiting were common enough that examining your change was routine. Clipping was a capital offence, which did not stop it.