Penny Pinser is Gina's arch-rival in the world of "adventure archaeology." She is in many ways Gina's equal: in intellect, ingenuity, ambition and material resources. A bit more vicious than Gina (though only a little), Penny often goes far out of her way, at great expense, just to show Gina up. The two girls repeatedly run into one another while on the trail of lost treasures and even find themselves competing for the same men. Penny enjoys calling Gina "Gold Digger" to her face, so in response, Gina has come up with the apellation "Penny Pincher," which gets the desired reaction. While her advances towards Kevin "Ace" Koss were being turned aside earlier in the series, Penny persisted enough that she and Ace are now considered an item. Adventuring with Gina and Ryan, Penny gained herself a friend and bodyguard in the form of the genetically created harpy first called Tweetie but now named Charlotte. During Gina's finacial troubles, Ace convinced Penny to end her rivalry and she has proven to be a competitive friend ever since.