Yesterday, on Monday, February 4, the Royal Canadian Mint stopped issuing the penny, Canada’s one-cent coin. It now costs more to produce a penny than it’s worth.
Pennies will still be used for a time, but eventually, stores will stop using them.
Amazon will still charge Canadians $1.03 for that 99 cent book and that’s what will show up on your credit card. But if you are in a physical store using physical money, your price will work this way:
The nickel, our smallest official coin now, will continue to be useful.
So what do you do with all your pennies?
- Take them to the bank and change them into something else, like nickels, dimes, quarters, loonies or toonies. Or deposit them.
- I know that the Rockyview Hospital is collecting cans of pennies. If you happen to be there, you can deposit your pennies to help out a good cause.
- If you are so inclined, you could collect a few to show your grandchildren. When I was a child, my mother got us those little blue penny folders.
Will pennies someday be valuable?
Not for a long long time since there are literally billions and billions of pennies out there. Some them in those little blue folders, and some just sitting in jars. Our American friends may even have a few.
Does your country have a one-cent coin?
first of all, welcome back! I’m glad to se you decided to keep blogging. Personally I wish they’d kept the penny but likely will deposit the ones I have in my kids’ trust accounts.
Have a great day!
Hi Michelle– It was a great day! I just got back from skiing:)
I’m going to finish off my little blue book of pennies and then I’ll probably bring the rest to the Rockyview Hospital.
I’m sad to see the penny go. Shining in all its copper brilliance, the penny had value when I was in grade school. If you saw a penny you picked it up and took it to the corner store to buy Double Bubble gum to chew while you read the comic strip inside. Hm. Perhaps that was two pennies, but I digress.
There was that nursery song, if you haven’t got a ha’penney the God bless you, the half penny being obsolete by the time I sang that rhyme. Life comes full circle.
I’m sad too, that, as a born Winnipegger, I still haven’t visited the Royal Canadian Mint. I was back in my hometown this past October and drove by a few times, thinking, one of these days…
We couldn’t get rid of the American penny. Apparently they breed in the bottom of my purse, so when I need change, that’s all I can find.
😉
On penny value–we have copper thieves like crazy around here, so I figure they have more value than as a coin. The thieves go around stealing the wire out of street lights, out of public facilities and wiring for pumps (out in the country farmers are having a heck of a time getting water to flow because the pumps become useless.) I’m waiting for the thieves to get the idea to steal pennies from piggy banks. Oye!
Sherry! I didn’t know you were a Canadian. I’m in Calgary. And one day, I would love to visit the Royal Canadian Mint.
I remember Double Bubble too.
Liv – as always, you make me laugh 🙂
Cora – Copper Thieves and Piggy Banks . . . somehow that sounds like a great title for a short story collection!
We got rid of our 1c and 2c coins — which I imagine are equivalent — years and years ago in Australia. Our smallest coin is now 5c. I think it was a grand idea to get rid of them! I’ve visited both the US and Canada and having those teeny tiny (and let’s face it rather useless) coins breeding in the bottom of your purse all together frustrating. 🙂
But I totally understand there’s nostalgia associated with it, and I probably felt the same way when we got rid of ours.
wow! 2 cents coins! I didn’t know Australia had those.
Canada used to have a 2 dollar bill, as well as the 1 dollar bill. Both have been replaced by coins: the loonie, because of the loon on the front, and then the toonie. The toonie has a polar bear on it. Not quite sure how we started saying toonie…
I like the penny, even though my bag has the same breeding problem as Liv’s purse. If the US is going to change its currency, I vote we add some color to our dollar bills like they have practically everywhere else. It was really helpful when traveling abroad to have the bills be different colors.
I love the different coloured currency and I take it for granted, until I go to the States and everything is green. Then I need to pay attention to what I’m pulling out of my wallet…
I’m pretty sure I have a few Canadian pennies that I will now hold on to! There are some penny crafts on Pinterest that I might try if the U.S. penny is ever discontinued.
Terrific idea, Kim. I was just looking through Pinterest at the penny projects. Amazing. Thanks for sharing!