Canadian Penny last day today (4th February 2013)

[Luc]

Google says it's official. Canada will produce the last pennies today and will slowly remove them eventually. The Canadian government did not provide a date for it yet.

So, say good bye to your Canadian pennies, they are going away.

Is it a good thing? I lived in both world (with and without pennies). With in Canada, without in Australia and honestly, it's easier without pennies. Electronic transaction remain the same, only cash transactions are affected. I understand that all merchand will have that problem to balance the cash register at the end of the day but then, most change or adjust their prices to get a more even number so it doesn't unbalance the cash register.

It's a bit confusing at first, like anything new but I reckon it's a step forward considering that each penny cost 1.6 cents to produce and is worth 1 cent. This is not intended to be political, just to highlight a change in the economy!

 

[the beav]

Actually, it's a symptom that the government is printing too much money.

The same thing happened in the United States when they took the silver out of coins in 1965; they did so because the value in the underlying metal became worth more than the coin itself.

Today, monetary inflation has degraded the system so badly that it has even reached the penny--in the US also although nothing has happened here yet (actually, it has since they took most of the copper out of the penny around 1982--it's mostly zinc now with a copper coating).

This may be hard to understand unless you can think about it in terms of trade; that is, money for goods. We used to have five and dime stores, and some of us can remember when five or ten cents would buy you a Coke or a candy bar. Now we have Dollar General although they sell the same stuff.

 

[Hunter]

I am pleased with it, I have wanted an end to the penny for years now and oddly enough it was the conservative government that listened... though there have been lots of backbenchers in other parties calling for it too. As the Beav said it is part of inflation but it went the way of the half penny. I just really hope that someone doesn't get some big idea and push through a five dollar coin!

 

[Pebcak]

I am pleased with it, I have wanted an end to the penny for years now and oddly enough it was the conservative government that listened... though there have been lots of backbenchers in other parties calling for it too. As the Beav said it is part of inflation but it went the way of the half penny. I just really hope that someone doesn't get some big idea and push through a five dollar coin!

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/0...-off-ndp-mp-pat-martin-sets-sights-on-nickel/

At this rate we're all going to have to carry murses.

 

[Luc]

I think a 5 cent coin is still fine, no need to kill it. Compared to British money, we don't have much. The advantages of coins are the durabilty, of course. We still have pennies from 1970 where a 5$, 10$, 20$, etc needs to be changed every x years. The new polymer money is a step to get a more durable money. But they all stick together! How come the Australian ones are not sticking together??

Rick Mercer is right on that new polymer money...

In the end, with pennies gone, it will help since many soft drink machines, public phones, etc do not even accept the 1 cent even if it's money!

 

[inspiringK]

I'm fine with the change. They were just a hassle to have around and do cost more to make than they are worth (which doesn't really effect anything, it just seems like a waste).

Now, the jar I have at home that is full of coins is harbouring collector's items? What can I get for a Canadian penny on Ebay now?

 

[Hunter]

I'm fine with the change. They were just a hassle to have around and do cost more to make than they are worth (which doesn't really effect anything, it just seems like a waste).

Now, the jar I have at home that is full of coins is harbouring collector's items? What can I get for a Canadian penny on Ebay now?

one cent, unless it is a super old one...

Best thing to do with your pennies is roll them up and turn them into the bank, doesn't make sense to have it sitting around the house but taking up space and collecting dust. I love the arguments of the people that demand we keep the penny. They fear they will get stiffed at the till, when most of them use debit or just really don't understand the law of averages. As for getting rid of the Nickle? I dunno I think the NDP just wants to try to stay on the cutting edge of what the political underground wants to get rid of next without offending too many people.

 

[Schmitz Bitz]

I for one would support a move to abolish the nickle, and even the dime. Never mind the cost to produce these ridiculously low denominations, but I see two solid reasons to support this.
The first, as alluded to by 'The Beav' is the buying power of the denominations. There was a time when a nickle would buy you a Coke, now it will buy you a single gummy candy...a nickle actually got the equivalent power of one-half of a half-pence when it was abolished.
The second, as 'Hunter' mentioned is that electronic and cheque-based transactions will still be to the cent. I suspect that most of us live an *almost* cash-free life, instead reaching for the plastic for point-of-sale transactions...and as for major purchases like insurance and mortgage, I know I'm not inclined to hit the ATM preferring instead to simply write a cheque. On the rare occasion that I find myself in need of cash, it's usually for purchases such as raffle tickets, or private sales (such as a garage sale), and the amounts are usually already based on a $0.25 increment.

 

[Dalejr]

Do away with the 5 and 10 cent and it will be perfect. I am not a fan of a pocket full of change.

 

[SalvadorMontenegro]

 

[njpaddy]

I like coins. I toss them in a jar at the end of the day and once or twice a year I cash them out and buy myself a new shaving brush.

 

[BBrad]

It is human nature to resist (and resent) change. The emotional attachment to the status quo is stronger than the intellectual reasoning surrounding the need for change.

Here in the states, we absolutely refuse to give up our one-dollar bill and reject every new dollar coin that is offered to us by our mint. For decades we have also rejected the two-dollar bill as being "unlucky," and would most likely curl up in a ball and die if the penny was discontinued. All of this in the face of the "dollars and cents" fact that we would save quite a bit of cost by eliminating the penny and the low-denomination paper while promoting the use of our already existing dollar coin.

Canada has it right on this one!!

 

[Pebcak]

Do away with the 5 and 10 cent and it will be perfect. I am not a fan of a pocket full of change.

That's the catch, we're still going to have a pocket full of change. It's just going to be higher denominations.

 

[ras120]

I'm curious how eliminating the penny affects the cost of stamps with Canada Post. See, in the US, stamp prices are set by a rate commission and not the Postal Service itself. The Postal Service submits their request for the rate increases they want, but ultimately it is the rate commission that tells them what they get based on their operating expenses (the Postal Service is supposed to be a "break-even" business).

We just had a .01¢ increase in the cost of a First Class stamp to .46¢, so people are giving or getting pennies when they buy small amounts of stamps. The only way to avoid this would be to raise the cost of a First Class stamp to .50¢, which is well beyond what the rate commission would grant. I'm pretty sure the rate commission would never allow the Postal Service to build up surplus money, so the likely scenario would be that the USPS would go deeper into the red before being granted an increase as large as .05¢.

 

[john shea]

Get rid of the cent and nickel. The current dime is comparable to the 1950's cent so round off. The cent coin is becoming irrelevant like a 1 Lira or Yen note or coin would be.

 

[Hunter]

That's the catch, we're still going to have a pocket full of change. It's just going to be higher denominations.

Not for me, as soon as I have change it goes into my drawer at work or into the change bottle at home. One is near full again so I'm going to spend a weekend rolling soon.

 

[Schmitz Bitz]

I'm curious how eliminating the penny affects the cost of stamps with Canada Post. See, in the US, stamp prices are set by a rate commission and not the Postal Service itself. The Postal Service submits their request for the rate increases they want, but ultimately it is the rate commission that tells them what they get based on their operating expenses (the Postal Service is supposed to be a "break-even" business).

We just had a .01¢ increase in the cost of a First Class stamp to .46¢, so people are giving or getting pennies when they buy small amounts of stamps. The only way to avoid this would be to raise the cost of a First Class stamp to .50¢, which is well beyond what the rate commission would grant. I'm pretty sure the rate commission would never allow the Postal Service to build up surplus money, so the likely scenario would be that the USPS would go deeper into the red before being granted an increase as large as .05¢.

Before I can really answer this question to the best of my understanding, we have to look at the intrinsic differences between USPS and Canada Post. The USPS is run as a 'quasi-government agency' (much like our CRA), which while allowing it to function as an offical entity controlling enforcement and collecting moneys on behalf of the U.S. Federal Government, it also allows them to operate somewhat at arms length as a private, for profit organization...well, in theory at least. When the directors of USPS want to make a change to services or costs, it must answer to the Federal Government. Canada Post, on the other hand, is a branch of the Canadian Federal Government, and as such operates entirely as a government body. When Canada Post wants to make a change to services or costings, they are (in essence) the Federal Government, they simply go ahead and do it...and, of course, the Feds have no issues turning a profit, it all goes into the coffers in the end anyway.
However, it's not as simple as that. The way our postage works is somewhat different than the way US postage works. We no longer have stamps with an assigned monitary value, but rather Canadian Stamps work sort of like a contract allowing for the delivery of...they don't expire, and they increase in value as the price of postage goes up.
As to the purchasing of stamps, if you make the purchase using debit, credit or cheque (well, assuming you can find someone willing to accept a cheque for $0.52 to $5.20), it will continue to be charged to the cent. If you purchase with cash-money, they will round a $0.52 stamp to the closest increment of 5, so $0.50 (books holding 10 stamps will always end in a '10').

 

[maxman]

Now what am I going to bribe my 3 year old daughter with?
5 cents is a huge increase!
I'll be broke in a month.

No really, I'm sad and glad at the same time to see the old penny go.
It will be a shame that the kids of tomorrow won't have a huge jar of pennies.

 

[Hunter]

Now what am I going to bribe my 3 year old daughter with?
5 cents is a huge increase!
I'll be broke in a month.

No really, I'm sad and glad at the same time to see the old penny go.
It will be a shame that the kids of tomorrow won't have a huge jar of pennies.

Depending on inflation they may end up with huge jars of nickles and dimes. Actually I was going to use the money from my recycling to buy some of those coin rolls, then travel to the bank.

 

[maxman]

Her piggy bank has more in it than my bank account.