CBC: The death of the Canadian penny

Obituary: Canadian penny, 1858-2013
Royal Canadian Mint stops distributing the copper-coloured coin on Feb. 4

The penny's demise had been anticipated since March 29, 2012, when federal Finance Minister James Flaherty announced in the budget that his government had decided to phase out the smallest denomination of Canada's currency.

The Canadian penny traces its origins to 1858, when the then-province of Canada adopted the decimal system for its currency. Initially, it was struck at the Royal Mint in Great Britain. The 1858 penny had Queen Victoria on the obverse (or "heads") side and a vine of maple leaves on the reverse (or "tails") side.

Penny production moved to Canada in 1908, when the Ottawa branch of the British Royal Mint opened. Countess Grey, the wife of Canada's governor general at the time, struck the first penny at the mint's official opening on Jan. 2. Until 1997, the penny's composition was at least 95.5 per cent copper.

The year 2006 was a significant one for the Canadian penny, as it reached peak production. More than 1.26 billion pennies were minted that year. The last penny was minted in Winnipeg on May 4, 2012.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/01/31/f-penny-obit.html

Can the US penny be far behind?

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17 replies	Author	Time	Post
CBC: The death of the Canadian penny (Original post)	pampango	Feb 2013	OP
Can the US penny be far behind? Yes.	gcomeau	Feb 2013	#1
Well then I guess there will be a limit to how low they can pay us	Duer 157099	Feb 2013	#2
Minimum wage in Ontario is $10.25...nt	SidDithers	Feb 2013	#6
"Canada adopted the decimal system for its currency"	jberryhill	Feb 2013	#3
I see what you did there.	apocalypsehow	Feb 2013	#4
But the US beat Canada in adopting the decimal system for its currency	Art_from_Ark	Feb 2013	#8
But we put "In God We Trust" on ours	jberryhill	Feb 2013	#9
And they put "D.G." (Dei Gratia) on theirs	Art_from_Ark	Feb 2013	#10
Well, there you are	jberryhill	Feb 2013	#11
We do, too	Art_from_Ark	Feb 2013	#12
Whose side are you on, son?	jberryhill	Feb 2013	#13
Son?	Art_from_Ark	Feb 2013	#14
Only if you take Canadian pennies	jberryhill	Feb 2013	#15
As long as they're exchangeable	Art_from_Ark	Feb 2013	#16
I'll pick up a fresh batch on February 5 from the Canadian mint	jberryhill	Feb 2013	#17
I Guess There Won't be Any More $NN.99 Sales or Prices.	dballance	Feb 2013	#5
No. It just means that totals will be rounded to the nearest nickel...	SidDithers	Feb 2013	#7

Response to pampango (Original post)

Mon Feb 4, 2013, 02:21 PM

gcomeau (2,907 posts)

1. Can the US penny be far behind? Yes.

Last edited Mon Feb 4, 2013, 02:21 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

Canada scrapped dollar bills in favor of dollar coins 25 years ago, how's that transition coming along in the US?

And don't make me bring up the metric system...

CBC: The death of the Canadian penny

1. Can the US penny be far behind? Yes.

2. Well then I guess there will be a limit to how low they can pay us

6. Minimum wage in Ontario is $10.25...nt

3. "Canada adopted the decimal system for its currency"

4. I see what you did there.

8. But the US beat Canada in adopting the decimal system for its currency

9. But we put "In God We Trust" on ours

10. And they put "D.G." (Dei Gratia) on theirs

11. Well, there you are

12. We do, too

13. Whose side are you on, son?

14. Son?

15. Only if you take Canadian pennies

16. As long as they're exchangeable

17. I'll pick up a fresh batch on February 5 from the Canadian mint

5. I Guess There Won't be Any More $NN.99 Sales or Prices.

7. No. It just means that totals will be rounded to the nearest nickel...