luck penny

plural luck pennies · alternative luck-penny · alternative luckpenny

1. archaicA small sum of money given back for luck when paying.

   I mean, had he not luckily exposed his legacy to jeopardy, having offered it as bounty-money and luckpenny to the patron

   c. 1827, Thomas Carlyle (translator), originally byJean Paul Friedrich Richter, The Campaner thal, and other writings, Life of Quintus Fixlein

   Synonyms: God's penny

2. A coin carried or given for luck.

   'A kind harvest to you, John Dolan,' cried the postillion, 'and success to ye, Winny, with the quality. There's a luck-penny for the child to begin with,' added he, throwing the child a penny.

   1812, Maria Edgeworth, The Absentee, Chapter X