Penny

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http://money.ca.msn.com/federalbudget/mint-will-stop-making-pennies-this-fall

So are collectors going to miss the penny?  I will miss going through rolls of pennies because you can always find an old interesting one.  I won't miss dealing with them at work!

Won't miss them a bit!

Good, it's about time. Our whole coinage system could use an overhaul, after 75 years of the same designs and sizes on most of our coins.

All those billions of pennies in circulation will now become rare collector items! 

Good riddance. I found a number of smaller business rounding up to the nearest nickel when giving change anyways.

There was a considerable lobby from coin collectors to continue to continue to include the cent in the mint sets.  Markup on those sets would more than cover the 1.6 cent cost of the penny.  I wonder if that would be a Canadian Mint decision only.   The new government edict certainly spells the end of the circulating penny but the collector penny.

There was a considerable lobby from coin collectors to continue to continue to include the cent in the mint sets.  Markup on those sets would more than cover the 1.6 cent cost of the penny.  I wonder if that would be a Canadian Mint decision only.   The new government edict certainly spells the end of the circulating penny but the collector penny.

That wouldn't be a bad idea. When the Euro was launched, I remember Finland was the country that didn't circulate 1 or 2 cent coins, choosing to round to the nearest 5 cents while other nations had all denominations of coins. They did release 1 and 2 cent coins for collectors and continue to do so today, and same for other nations that have since adopted rounding. In the case of the Euro though, it's probably to keep some level of consistency considering there are many nations that circulate the entire set of coins, and of course it's purely for collecting purposes in those countries.

All those billions of pennies in circulation will now become rare collector items! 

Yes, I'm sure eBay will soon be deluged with a flood of "rare" penny auctions...where the postage will cost upwards of 60 times the value of the package contents.

The 50 cent coin is still produced for the collector market in sets and even in rolls (at a premium over face), despite it not being distributed through normal circulation channels anymore. I see no reason why they cannot do the same thing with the penny, and I'm fairly certain that they will.

The 50 cent coin is still produced for the collector market in sets and even in rolls (at a premium over face), despite it not being distributed through normal circulation channels anymore. I see no reason why they cannot do the same thing with the penny, and I'm fairly certain that they will.

The difference between the penny and the fifty cent though is that the fifty cent doesn't get pulled from circulation (not that they get circulated that much) whereas the penny will be pulled and returned to the mint to be recycled.  I think because the penny would no longer be a circulating coin, that the RCM wouldn't continue to produce it for its regular annual sets.

I don't think the RCM will mint anymore pennies at all. Not even for collector sets.

Finland and the Netherlands stopped producing €0.01 and €0.02 coins for circulation years ago, but they still do produce them for collectors' sets. I'm betting on the RCM doing the same with the cent.

I agree ... in fact the collector market was given consideration in the 2010 Report from the Standing Senate Committee on abolishing the cent.

You can read about it here:

http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/403/fina/rep/rep08dec10-e.pdf

It's about time the Mint has spoken!  After all those years of accumulating pennies, the end is finally nearing!

Hasta la Vista, Sayanara, and good riddance to the penny!  It will be one less annoying coin to see in my change!  Whatever pennies I have I am going to donate to charity in the coming months.

I can't wait for February 4, 2013.

Well, folks, the day has come.  Some bank branches have received an order of pennies for the last time today.  There are some banks open on Saturdays in Canada, and those particular branches will distribute the penny for one more day after today.  Cashiers will continue giving out pennies in change for 2 more days after today.  Come Monday, we kiss the penny goodbye and won't miss them one bit.

It's sad, however, that the penny will be withdrawn on Monday, and I still had yet to see a 2012 minted penny in my change.  I guess I will never be receiving one, but it comes as no surprise.

But the good overrides the bad.  I will certainly not miss the penny one bit!  Makes me wonder if the number of nickels in circulation will rise starting on Monday?