In Memoriam Plus Five: The Canadian Penny

[dewline]

For some reason, someone on my "Network" page - a friendlister of someone on my own friendlist - accidentally reminded me that Canada phased out its penny five years ago. I'm not sure that this was a good idea.

Comments

[jhetley]

We still see them in Maine. Handed one over in the Big Apple store just last week.

[jo]

It was a brilliant idea. One of two things the Harper Government did that I 100% approve of. The other being simplifying passport renewal.

[kaffy_r]

For some reason, I hadn't realized that. I still have Canadian pennies from my last couple of visits. What does one do with one's pennies - can they be brought into banks?

[dewline]

I believe so, but I can't be sure of that.

I know I've hoarded a bunch for sentimental reasons as much as a hedge against direst emergencies.

[jo]

Nope -- apparently even banks won't take them anymore.

[dewline]

Well, that's Disturbing.

[kaffy_r]

Dang. That's ... annoying. Of course, I can't help thinking about the hypothetical person who brings in hundreds of dollars worth of savings, in pennies, and says she wants to deposit that amount in her account. Was there any legislation that specifically said, "after such-and-such a date, it will no longer be recognized as legal tender"?

Must go Google this.

Also, that hypothetical person is not me. Which I felt I should mention. Ahem .

[jo]

I had a few in a desk drawer at work, so one day tried to pay for a tea using exact change ($1.77), and the cashier wouldn't take the two pennies because they can't get rid of them -- she's the one who told me the banks wouldn't take them, which is why the store wouldn't accept them.

[kaffy_r]

I checked with a penny transition FAQ on the Canadian Mint page; pennies are still legal tender, but financial institutions have the right to refuse them under some circumstances, which seems to point to "if you have $100 in pennies to pay for a $100 purchase, or a $100 deposit, most institutions will end up accepting them." The FAQ also states businesses are free to not accept them. This was a 2012 FAQ but I found nothing to contradict it on the site. (I might not be looking hard enough.) It sounds as if the then-Tory government bureaucracy was trying to have it both ways.

[mystical_journey]

i still see Canadian pennies time to time.

There was talk of phasing out the US penny.

Who knows?

[neowolf2]

According to Wikipedia, the Canadian penny was mostly steel, with a copper coating. Copper is generally not welcome as an alloying element in steel, so I wonder how they recycled them after abolition.