Today Canada Officially Retires the Penny

Bruce M. Thomson

Gold Member
Financially it makes sense since it cost 1.7 cents to make one; on the other hand it has consequences for the future. There is already talk of doing the same to the nickel, this would set us up on a decimal system and eventually down the road a cashless society.
Obviously prices will be moved up to the nearest nickel and then if the other shoe drops to the nearest dime.
Any thoughts on this? Is this the future?
 
I didn't know this news, but I think it would only benefit big business. Just round up to the nearest ____. And the homeless or panhandlers looking for change in a paperless currency society? Hm.
 
How would this affect the small business owner? Could they absorb the annual loss of a few pennies here a few pennies there?
 
I feel that its inevitable to a certain extent. As the market continues to inflate money, the smaller denominations will be worth less and less until the have no effective value. Back in the day when a dime was a doughnut and a coffee, pennies had some clout. But nowadays most people could cares less about 10 cents, let alone 1. I heard a while ago that the US has talked about doing this as well, but who knows.
 
How would this affect the small business owner? Could they absorb the annual loss of a few pennies here a few pennies there?

That has been brought up as an issue but most are looking forward to not having to deal with the pennies and they will increase their price UP to the nearest nickel so they won't be losing.
 
I feel that its inevitable to a certain extent. As the market continues to inflate money, the smaller denominations will be worth less and less until the have no effective value. Back in the day when a dime was a doughnut and a coffee, pennies had some clout. But nowadays most people could cares less about 10 cents, let alone 1. I heard a while ago that the US has talked about doing this as well, but who knows.

Might be a harder sale in the US, the governments have resisted changing the bills from the mono coloured green to a variety such as we and most European countries use.
A lot of people have made fortunes on pennies in the US as well. You are right though; the saying save your pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves is pretty much out of date.
 
I remember traveling in Italy in the mid 80's after they had devalued their currency a few times. I remember paying for a few items and getting my change and a few pieces of candy. Retailers took to keeping a cheap candy dish and that's how they dealt with not having 1 lira coins.
 
10.01, 10.02 becomes 10.00.....10.03 and 10.04 become 10.05 Round to the nearest nickel. Some up some down, at the end of the year....all square. And we can stop selling things for 10.99. Price is 11.00. I get really excited when I can buy a car for 24,995.99. Please.
 
I'm going to enjoy not using pennies but I don't think it's going to change anything much in the long run.
 
We dropped 1 and 2 cent bits here in Oz years ago for exactly the same reason....it cost more to make than the value of the coin. As far as I'm aware it's had no material impact on anything.......it certainly hasn't affected day to day living despite many people raising similar questions to those raised here (there were concerns at the time that it may evolve on to include 5 cent peices as well, but as yet this hasn't materialised). Everything is just rounded up (or down....believe it or not, it does actually happen on occasion).

Although sadly Grunter, it has done nothing to eliminate things being advertised at $19.99 instead of a neat $20. That old sales trick is still seen everywhere.
 
so that's why I keep getting more of the Canadian pennies here south of the border....
 
and in the US:

The humble penny, which is 2.5 percent copper and the rest zinc, costs 2.41 cents to make. That's up from 1.23 cents in 2006, when the cost of making a penny first crossed the threshold of an actual penny.

The nickel? It now costs 11.18 cents to make that coin -- which is composed of 25 percent nickel and the rest copper -- up from 5.73 cents in 2006.
 
We dropped 1 and 2 cent bits here in Oz years ago for exactly the same reason....it cost more to make than the value of the coin. As far as I'm aware it's had no material impact on anything.......it certainly hasn't affected day to day living despite many people raising similar questions to those raised here (there were concerns at the time that it may evolve on to include 5 cent peices as well, but as yet this hasn't materialised). Everything is just rounded up (or down....believe it or not, it does actually happen on occasion).

Although sadly Grunter, it has done nothing to eliminate things being advertised at $19.99 instead of a neat $20. That old sales trick is still seen everywhere.

My brother lives in Sydney and when he visited he showed me the polymar bills and I thought that was great idea, well sure enough we are going that route as well. So far just the 20's and 50's but eventually everything. Your bills are better though, our new 20 seems to be a bit thinner. I also liked the idea of the smaller denominations being smaller in size.
 
The main effect is threatened trust in currency....discontinuing a denomination of currency brings into question the validity of currency in the first place.
 
We dropped 1 and 2 cent bits here in Oz years ago for exactly the same reason....it cost more to make than the value of the coin. As far as I'm aware it's had no material impact on anything.......it certainly hasn't affected day to day living despite many people raising similar questions to those raised here (there were concerns at the time that it may evolve on to include 5 cent peices as well, but as yet this hasn't materialised). Everything is just rounded up (or down....believe it or not, it does actually happen on occasion).

Five cent pieces have been irritating for a few years now but they make a difference to those living on the edge (eg. aspiring musicians, artists, writers and poets).

Agree that the tipping factor is production costs, also practicality. You don't want lots of swapping and counting of small coins in supermarkets. Coins weigh a ton in my purse and probably wear out your wallets and jeans.
 
The "its costs more to make the actual value" argument is interesting but doesn't really mean anything. All currency gets used in many transactions, so whatever it costs to make is irrelevant compared to potentially infinite transactions it will facilitate the help fuel the economy.

The clincher for me is the the penny and other small denominations of money are grossly inefficient at their one purpose: to facilitate transactions of stuff. Physical money is divisible into smaller denominations so we can fine tune the exchange price, but it isn't divisible infinitely. At some point the denominations become too small to matter to the exchange of stuff.

The US has already encountered this issue with the half-cent ($0.005) which they discontinued in 1857. +/-$0.005 didn't change the effective value of any good or service, so it was done away with.

These videos are very interesting and informative...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5UT04p5f7U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU4E6SSy5Yg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77C47XYm_3c
 
My brother lives in Sydney and when he visited he showed me the polymar bills and I thought that was great idea, well sure enough we are going that route as well. So far just the 20's and 50's but eventually everything. Your bills are better though, our new 20 seems to be a bit thinner. I also liked the idea of the smaller denominations being smaller in size.

Notoriously difficult to counterfeit, so I'm told. Both that and their durability (they last 2 to 3 times longer than a standard paper note) was the main driver towards adopting them in the late 80's/early 90's.

Five cent pieces have been irritating for a few years now.......

Yep unfortunately they've become the new 1 cent pieces.......no-one wants them. I have a drawer full of the bloody things that I've been meaning to take to the bank and exchange for a "real" denomination that I can actually do something with......however I have just lost a $100 bet with a mate so I'm gonna be a spiteful, snidey bastard and pay him off in 5 cent pieces instead. Perfect for just such an occasion, Pol!! :)
 
" a penny saved is a penny ....burned" (Ben Franklin? modified by Louis).
This was long overdue. I will not miss the penny, but leave our nickels alone. Only currency with Canada's national animal....the beaver! lol

And yes.. when are stores going to stop selling at 10.99 etc. ?? We all know thats $11!
 
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