The penny is fucking useless and sometimes when handed one for change I'll toss it. Who knows, it may turn out to be a lucky one for someone. But is it littering? And what about nickels or dimes? Is that littering, too? At what denomination does it cease to be littering and is considered charity?
Here in the UK, littering (including cigarette butts) carries an £80 fine. The funniest incident that I can remember was when a guy was handed a ticket by a jobsworth police officer when a £20 note dropped out of his pocket while he was searching for his car keys. It made headline news all over the UK and the police officer was given a desk job the following week, which was back in the news again.
its not about the denomination or even the nature of the object, its about inconsiderateness and how that fucks up more then just how things look.