Take a walk down penny lane

[Anna Michele]

AS OF FEB 4TH THE PENNY WILL BE NO MORE

The penny, first minted in 1787, was the first currency of any type authorized by the United States. The design for the first penny was suggested by Benjamin Franklin. Paul Revere supplied copper for the minting of pennies during the 1790s, and Abraham Lincoln's image has graced the coin since 1909. Whaples said the coin's long history and America's sentimental attachment to it make many people reluctant to get rid of the penny.


The penny will start disappearing in a month.
As of Feb 4th banks will take them from you.
When you checkout with cash your bill will be rounded to the nearest 5-cent increment. Debit/credit card transactions will still be to the cent.
Do you care? Will you miss it?

[Anna Michele]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny

pen·ny

[pen-ee] Show IPA noun, plural pen·nies, (especially collectively for 2, 3) pence, adjective.
noun 1. a bronze coin, the 100th part of the dollars of various nations, as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States; one cent.

2. Also called new penny. a bronze coin and monetary unit of the United Kingdom and various other nations, the 100th part of a pound. Abbreviation: p

3. a former bronze coin and monetary unit of the United Kingdom and various other nations, the 12th part of a shilling: use phased out in 1971. Abbreviation: d.

4. a sum of money: He spent every penny he ever earned.

5. the length of a nail in terms of certain standard designations from twopenny to sixtypenny.

[Anna Michele]

OTTAWA - There may still be pennies from heaven, but they won't be coming from the mint much longer.

The humble one-cent piece is set to disappear from Canadian pockets, a victim of inflation. Thursday's federal budget said the Royal Canadian Mint will strike the last of the little coins this fall.

The budget says the cost of minting a penny has risen to 1.6 cents or $11 million a year. Its purchasing power has fallen to a 20th of its original value.

"Some Canadians consider the penny more of a nuisance than a useful coin," the budget documents said.

And so the coin will go the way of the old 25-cent shinplaster.

"The penny is a currency without any currrency in Canada," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said at a news conference.

It's nothing but a nuisance for business, he added.

Pennies will still be legal tender, but as they slowly vanish from circulation, prices will have to be rounded up or down.

If the customer has the pennies, they can use them. Payments with debit or credit cards or cheques can also be to the penny. But if the customer is paying cash and doesn't have the pennies, the total will go up or down to the nearest nickel. For example, $1.02 will become $1 and $1.03 will be $1.05. The budget said experience in other countries that have dropped low-denomination coins suggests that rounding will be fair and there will be no impact on inflation.


As for those jars, boxes and bags of pennies sitting in countless drawers across the country, the government suggests people donate them to charities.


The penny has been under fire for years. New Democrat MP Pat Martin has introduced private member's bills over the years to kill it.




The disappearing penny will likely have little economic impact, but it may require some cultural adjustments. Penny candy? A relic of the past. The penny arcade? Already gone. And some old adages will likely fade away, too. What are people going to pinch? Will thoughts now cost a nickel?

See a penny? Leave it. Penny-wise? Just foolish. Take care of the nickels and the dollars will take care of themselves?

Read it on Global News: Global BC | Penny to disappear from coinage system, minting to end by fall: budget

[walkonby]

ok so I am safe then, almost never do cash. Still sad though. Will have to remind DS#1 of this change.

[Anna Michele]

I rarely use cash as it is but I will be hesitant to now..... mind you round up one day and down the next we will basically break even in the end.

if you always carry cash and when the total is 4.86 pay cash of 4.85 and when it's 4.88 pay debit and save paying the 4.90 and you can gain in the end

[Natalka]

I think it's stupid, and I don't like it at all.

It was all necessitated by the stooopid people who have been hoarding pennies in jars, etc. so the mint had to keep making new pennies.

Reminds me I better roll some coins soon to take to the bank.

[MrsSunshine]

i'll miss the shiny ones .. oh and my son just went and bought milk with $5.. the milk was $4.99.. guess what he did with the leftover penny???????????

[walkonby]

well I would like a new kitchen floor...but....

[Anna Michele]

it wouldbe cheap and soon to be nostalgic lol

[rock_climberjoe]

i use the penny to date the furniture i build so i will def miss having the penny as my signature of the build year

[Brooke_]

This is a good way to save a few cents, if your total comes to $8.93 then pay using cash and you save $0.03 and if your total comes to $8.96 then pay debit/credit to avoid paying the extra $0.04!!

[Brooke_]

(can someone delete this for me or tell me how to? I can't manage to see a delete option! haha..)

[amandabananda]

I'll miss them. I have a 2 year old, so I've saved a few so she can eventually say to me "Mom, you remember the penny?! You're so old!"

[walkonby]

I wanted to post a story about the penny. The story was in Our Canada Magazine in Sept 2009 ( gotta love the waiting room magazines ) but I cannot type it all out ( too long) ok wait I will try to find the article on line maybe.
You will all cry!!!


OH!!! I found it!!

http://books.google.ca/books?id=e5nF...zrc_auFQTaWkXY

[Natalka]

WOB, I found it


The Fourth Penny by Robert R. Wells.

But it's a PDF, so I can't copy it - it's on google reader

http://books.google.ca/books?id=e5nFNG3116QC&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=the+four th+penny+by+robert+p.+wells&source=bl&ots=2sJs_R1E b6&sig=6vnqC9UbjAxkYpL1StXm55VwD08&hl=en&sa=X&ei=A LDtUJStOeHD2QWar4HQCQ&ved=0CEwQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q= the%20fourth%20penny%20by%20robert%20p.%20wells&f= false