Berol Greenback.

This article comes from Germany (Deutschland): Jon-Paul at Freelancers’ Guide.

They say money won’t make you happy. Berol’s Eagle Greenback Pencil is trying to argue the point.

Before we get into the review, here is a thumbnail history of the Eagle Pencil Company:

Eagle Pencil Company was formed in 1856 in New York by the Berolzheimer family. About fifty years later, the Empire Pencil Company was founded. Eagle started building operations all over Latin and South America while the Empire folks kept growing. In 1969, the Berol Corporation formed, merging no less than nine different office supply companies from North America and the UK. In 1986, Empire bought the Berol Corp making an office supply superpower swimming in pencils, which was then called Empire-Berol. In 1995, the Sanford Corporation acquired Empire-Berol, where it has remained since. (Reference.)

And that brings us to today’s discussion of the Eagle Greenbacks. Yes, they are pencils that are, as quoted from the front package, “made from RECYCLED MONEY!” There are six No. 2 pencils in a pack, with each pencil containing on average $7.33 of recycled U.S. currency. These pencils are PMA certified and are made in the USA out of US currency mixed with plastic. These pencils are supposed to be great for the environment since no trees are destroyed.

And don’t forget the “copper-colored eraser bands that look like shiny, new pennies.”

And now, my 2¢:

Writing with the gimmicky pencil isn’t nearly as fun as spending the pre-recycled materials. While they are light and smell nice, the buck stops there. The lead isn’t worth one red cent, a light gray that doesn’t keep a point, since it’s plastic and extruded with the barrel. The “wood” is soft and, frankly, makes your palm sweat. You can bend the pencil quite a ways before it breaks because of the plastic, so if you like pencils as solid as clams, this definitely will bug you. They are the standard 7.5” long with a green eraser that tends to make your page look like lettuce.

If you’re looking for a fun pencil gift to give your grade-school aged friend to show off to his or her friends, this is definitely the one. However, it’s not a serious pencil to carry out all of your favorite tasks.

Wise people say to beware the wine that comes in a fancy, colorful, bright and shiny bottle: they are selling the bottle – the wine is junk. And so it goes with pencils.

[Text and image, J-P. Used with permission.]