01 The Story
He went after children in uniform. We minted him a penny.
On 31 August 2026, the U.S. defense secretary posted a photograph taken at the cadet training centre in Vernon, British Columbia, with a Canadian flag and the words “this is real.” The Canadian Cadet Program is for twelve- to eighteen-year-olds.
The condemnation was bipartisan and on both sides of the border. Prime Minister Mark Carney called the post “beneath their office.” Defence Minister David McGuinty said it was “below the dignity” of his office. British Columbia Premier David Eby called it “an embarrassment.”
The department has considered the matter and assigned a denomination. We propose the Pee-Wee Penny.
What’s on it, exactly?
The obverse. PEE-WEE around the top, PENNY around the bottom, 1¢ at the right, and a figure on a bench struggling under a barbell while a considerably larger spotter takes the weight.
The reverse. A pacifier crossed with a small dumbbell, the mint mark PW, and the inscriptions PUNCHES DOWN and NEEDS A SPOT. The edge is plain, as a penny’s is.
The context, kept straight. The Canadian Cadet Program is run by Canada’s Department of National Defence for young people aged twelve to eighteen; cadets are not members of the military. The reaction to the post crossed party lines in Canada and drew objection in the United States as well.
This is not a real coin. The Pee-Wee Penny is an original parody illustration made to look struck in copper. It is not U.S. Mint artwork, it is not a product, it is not currency, and nothing here is for sale. “Pee-Wee Penny” is this site’s naming proposal, and the scene on it is a caricature, not a photograph.