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'Pennies from Heaven' is a jet sculpture covered in about 14,000 pennies in Falls Church, Virginia, described by the Washington Post in 2018 as on a plaza between two office buildings. Artist Courtney S. Hengerer made it in 2008 for the Crystal City 'Crystal Flight' campaign.
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Fighter jet made of coins
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Approximate location · 38.882° N, 77.171° W
FIELD GUIDE
The story
A model fighter jet covered in pennies was described in 2018 as sitting on a plaza between two office towers in Falls Church, Virginia, away from the Crystal City district it was made for.
The Washington Post reported in 2018 that the Crystal City Business Improvement District had the idea in late 2007 of celebrating the neighbourhood's connection to flight by placing statues of aeroplanes around it. Its chief operating officer said there were 50 planes, some in a jet style and others in a vintage propeller style. The planes were fabricated in St Paul, Minnesota, by TivoliToo, from urethane resin, and artists were invited to propose how to decorate them. Alexandria artist Courtney S. Hengerer chose a design she called "Pennies From Heaven". She told the Post each penny was glued on one by one, some bent with pliers to fit the curves, and that it took 14,000 to cover the plane. Passers-by brought her bags of pennies while she worked in a Crystal City studio space they could look into.
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WHAT TO EXPECT
A penny-covered jet sculpture, described by the Washington Post in 2018 as on a plaza between two office buildings. Virginia Living in 2024 listed it at 6400 Arlington Boulevard; look for the six British pennies among the Lincoln heads.
ACCESS
Virginia Living (2024) lists it at 6400 Arlington Boulevard, Falls Church, Virginia; the Washington Post described it in 2018 on a plaza between two office buildings. It stands on office-complex grounds, so access is as a visitor to business property.
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