Considering the common penny

Yesterday I went to a coin show down at Salt Lake Community College. I was looking at some of the Roman coins, from about 200 to 400AD. I picked through some of the coins about the size of a US dime. they are made of bronze and copper. This was the pay of the soldier a few of the small coins for a days work and fighting. Constantin was the emperor on the front with 2 pagan gods on the back. The emperor is famous for being the first Christian emperor, but it was not the emperor I was thinking of he has had centuries of fame. I thought of the soldier who's pay this may have been, the shop keeper who gave him bread and drink for the same coin. then a boot maker who made boots for the shop keeper, who paid his tax and the same coin went to the treasury, Then the coin was re issued to a soldier for his pay and because there was no bank just before he went to battle he buried the coin with the rest of his coins. He never returned to collect the coins. Likely killed fighting for his country. Then, 1600 years latter someone with a metal detector finds a small pile of coins buried in the earth and a bit of history comes to light. The coins are common, where they have been is remarkable. Do you ever wonder in some thing you made, something you held that penny you lost when you were a child will still be around in  1600 years. I hope I make a different that even if my name is lost my values and knowledge will go on. I hope it is more than a small pile of coins.