RIP Penny - born 1876 -- died 2013

naturelover · #1 02/04/13, 01:59 AM

http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/02/03...y-1876----2013

The venerable 1-cent coin officially dies Monday, when the Royal Canadian Mint will stop circulating it.

It was 137.

Costly to produce, and an annoyance to many, the penny had been in fading health for years. Millions of Canadians kept it stashed away, out of sight and out of mind, in jars, boxes and drawers.

In last year's federal budget, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty decided to pull the plug on the coin.

The Royal Canadian Mint stopped making new pennies last year.

The inspiration for countless expressions, the penny is survived in Canada by its older-currency siblings the nickel, dime and quarter, and a generation of loonies and toonies. It was predeceased by similar small-currency cousins in other countries .......

arabian knight · #2 02/04/13, 06:35 AM

Good deal.. Now if only the US would do the same thing. It IS ridiculous to keep stamping out a coin like that when the costs are way over what the coin value of the coin is in the first place.

tarbe · #3 02/04/13, 07:22 AM

Yeah, ours will be following shortly. I guess everything will be rounded to the nearest nickle some day?

bowdonkey · #4 02/04/13, 08:33 AM

I've been hoarding a ton of these waiting for this day. Hey everyone I got rare Canadian pennies in good to very good condition for $5 apiece. Minimum order of 5, postage paid in lower 48!

emdeengee · #5 02/04/13, 12:18 PM

The main problem with the way the Canadian government is doing this is that they are allowing rounding up and rounding down and allowing each business to decide the way they want to do it.

Australia did it the intelligent way - cash sales can only be rounded down.

beccachow · #6 02/04/13, 01:21 PM

Yup, the infamous $19.99 has kept our pennies circulating. Hey,w hat a deal, tho: you can get this product for under $20!! LOL!

NLm, what happens with all the pennies that are accumulated? DO you guys have to turn them in for compensation?

naturelover · #7 02/04/13, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beccachow

Yup, the infamous $19.99 has kept our pennies circulating. Hey,w hat a deal, tho: you can get this product for under $20!! LOL!

NLm, what happens with all the pennies that are accumulated? DO you guys have to turn them in for compensation?

We can do whatever we want with them, keep them if we want to or turn them in. Pennies will remain legal tender for as long as there are pennies in circulation and can still be used for purchases or exchanged at financial institutions. Financial institutions that take them in will exchange them to the mint to be melted. There are over 6 billion Canadian pennies in circulation so it could take several years for the majority of them to get turned in to be melted down.

.

MO_cows · #8 02/04/13, 04:43 PM

Well congratulations to Canada. Wish the US would follow suit. It costs more than one cent to make a penny and has for a long time. Throwing good money after bad to keep making them.

where I want to · #9 02/04/13, 04:49 PM

Well I tried using them as slug repellent in the saucers under my porch plant pots. Works OK as long as you only use the ones before 1982 (?)

thesedays · #10 02/04/13, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by where I want to

Well I tried using them as slug repellent in the saucers under my porch plant pots. Works OK as long as you only use the ones before 1982 (?)

They've been reformulated quite a few times. These probably have enough copper to keep the slugs away.

beccachow · #11 02/04/13, 05:34 PM

Higher copper concentration maybe?

naturelover · #12 02/04/13, 09:35 PM

Composition of both American and Canadian pennies has changed over the years. There's not much copper in either one of them these days.

American penny: http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint...ion=fun_facts2

The composition was pure copper from 1793 to 1837.
From 1837 to 1857, the cent was made of bronze (95 percent copper, and five percent tin and zinc).
From 1857, the cent was 88 percent copper and 12 percent nickel, giving the coin a whitish appearance.
The cent was again bronze (95 percent copper, and five percent tin and zinc) from 1864 to 1962.
(Note: In 1943, the coin's composition was changed to zinc-coated steel. This change was only for the year 1943 and was due to the critical use of copper for the war effort. However, a limited number of copper pennies were minted that year. You can read more about the rare, collectible 1943 copper penny in "What's So Special about the 1943 Copper Penny.")
In 1962, the cent's tin content, which was quite small, was removed. That made the metal composition of the cent 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc.
The alloy remained 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc until 1982, when the composition was changed to 97.5 percent zinc and 2.5 percent copper (copper-plated zinc). Cents of both compositions appeared in that year.

Canadian penny: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(...ughout_history

2000–2012 94% steel, 1.5% nickel, 4.5% copper (as plating)

1997–1999 98.4% zinc, 1.6% copper plating

1982–1996 98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc

1980–1981 98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc

1978–1979 98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc

1942–1977 98% copper, 0.5% tin, 1.5% zinc

1920–1941 95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc

1876–1920 95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc

1858–1859 95% copper, 4% tin, 1% zinc (bronze)

.

**Shrek** · #13 02/04/13, 11:52 PM

Who cares if the nickle becomes the worthless LCD of our fiat currency? This nation will be dead long before the quarter is the worthless LCD.

I will continue to petition to keep the penny if only to keep the nickle from becoming worthless bottom of our currency. If small minded people who dislike pennies would simply carry five or 10 of them to pay the tax on a dollar spent , roll them up when their change cup has 50 and take a few rolls with them to the bank once in awhile instead or even throw them into the leave a penny take a penny trays instead of throwing them away on the street as they leave a store * , more would remain in circulation and the issue would not be that much of a debate as the cost to manufacture currency always fluctuates with the metal prices.

*Yes I watched a woman throw six pennies on the sidewalk leaving a main street antique store and I went to my truck and got my grabber and picked them up and on my way back to my truck I saw a quarter.

For 2 minutes effort I scored 31 cents. Multiply that by 30 and my effort was worth $9.30 an hour. even if I had only picked up her six pennies it still came out to $1.80 an hour for the effort during a time while I was loafing and trading knives and fish tales and the best part was one of the 6 pennies was from my birth year.

bowdonkey · #14 02/05/13, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowdonkey

I've been hoarding a ton of these waiting for this day. Hey everyone I got rare Canadian pennies in good to very good condition for $5 apiece. Minimum order of 5, postage paid in lower 48!

Hmmm, no takers so far. How about $4.99 apiece!

**Shrek** · #15 02/05/13, 10:08 AM

I save my Canadian change to give to a friend from Manitoba when he comes through every year or so as a going home present.

emdeengee · #16 02/05/13, 02:07 PM

The concept behind the phasing out of the penny is that with rounding up and rounding down for cash payments you the customer will break even.

Well my neighbour and I were talking and she only ever uses cash to pay for her coffee at work - very small coffee shop that only accepts cash or debit (which costs her). They have chosen to round up. No rounding down.

As of yesterday a coffee costs her 2 cents more so 4 cents more a day or for 20 working days a month 80 cents or $9.60 a year. If 100 customers have the same spending habits this will cost them $960 more a year and the business will have made $960 extra dollars a year.

Now multiply this by all the businesses that decide to round up (their choice) and a penny suddenly does not seem so insignificant.