Canada scraps the penny

[BCD11]

Ottawa to scrap the penny this year - The Globe and Mail

Sorry 'bout the second post. I didn't think the link to the Globe and Mail story copied the way it should.

 

[That Canadian Guy]

Can you take a wild guess where I am headed right now and what I am going to buy there. Holy Crap, this is going to change everything for me.

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Now when the price of gas goes up, it go up by nickels per liter instead of pennies. At least the oil companies will benefit.
What they need to do is make a 5$, 10$ and 20$ coin. Now that would make MDing more interesting and save the gov. some money.
ZDD

 

[Canadian hunter]

Not good

 

[Reverend B*IKE*]

Yea but that also means they will be using it till its out of circulation which can be years!!
Yes or no?

 

[MIhunter]

Shocking!!! Not long before you won't be able to get boxes of pennies from Canadian banks. I will probably have to buy most of the pennies I am missing

 

[red89]

I wonder if the U.S.A. will follow anytime soon...maybe I should start searching for more copper than just wheat pennies like other people do haha.

 

[srcdco]

Ultimately this will force the US to also eliminate the cent. It's the reverse of what happened in the 1960's after the US removed silver from coins. Canada insisted that they would not be removing silver as they had plenty and their needs were much lower than the US. What they didn't count on was the number of Americans crossing the border to buy up silver Canadian coins and bring them back to the US. They tried lowering the amount of silver from 80% to 50% and that didn't help, so they had to eliminate it altogether in mid-1968. A similar situation will happen with US cents. They will end up being taken to Canada to circulate there, which will force the US to also stop production.

Scott

 

[ivan salis]

cooper hoarding anyone? get the real copper cents -- not the zinc stuff

the really big question is ---once offically its "no longer made" into cent / penny coins --can the coins then be legally "scrapped" for there copper value ? - whats the phaze out time frame?

or will the govt say --only they have the right to melt the coinage * for metal profeits -- in 2000 the canadain govt started culling all the PM's out of their coinage (silver , nickle and copper) --it took them 10 years to to "replace" the good metal coins for "junk zinc and steel plated ones " .

 

[frankendime]

The rush is on!!!

 

[Canadian hunter]

cooper hoarding anyone? get the real copper cents -- not the zinc stuff

the really big question is ---once offically its "no longer made" into cent / penny coins --can the coins then be legally "scrapped" for there copper value ? - whats the phaze out time frame?

or will the govt say --only they have the right to melt the coinage * for metal profeits -- in 2000 the canadain govt started culling all the PM's out of their coinage (silver , nickle and copper) --it took them 10 years to to "replace" the good metal coins for "junk zinc and steel plated ones " .

This post makes me cry. So bad I didn't know about CRH earlier, when the RCM programm was just starting. But some stuff is still out there, this inspires me to search more now, before banks refuse to sell or accept cents.

 

[MIhunter]

It is the right thing to do, it is a waste of money for the government to make coins for a loss. As a collector it is sad but the world doesn't run to suit our needs.

I don't think this will directly affect the US penny. We haven't droppped the $1 or $2 dollar bill yet. This is a growing movement to make changes is our coins and it is certainly time with the last major change was in 1964-5. This may lead to elimination of the US penny, but it might not. It is up to Congress and they have not been very quick to solve any problems.

 

[That Canadian Guy]

Ultimately this will force the US to also eliminate the cent. It's the reverse of what happened in the 1960's after the US removed silver from coins. Canada insisted that they would not be removing silver as they had plenty and their needs were much lower than the US. What they didn't count on was the number of Americans crossing the border to buy up silver Canadian coins and bring them back to the US. They tried lowering the amount of silver from 80% to 50% and that didn't help, so they had to eliminate it altogether in mid-1968. A similar situation will happen with US cents. They will end up being taken to Canada to circulate there, which will force the US to also stop production.

Scott

I see what you are saying and there are already many american pennies circulating in Canada put for people to majorly export American pennies would be illegal. Aren't you forgetting about the law that forbids anyone person to take more than $5 face value in pennies or nickels out of the country.

 

[That Canadian Guy]

I am thinking the exact same thing Canadian Hunter. Time to go all out on searching pennies. From what I have read they will stop minting pennies by the end of April and they will stop distribution in the fall and begin to withdraw them. From what I estimate with have about 5 months left with the penny. Also I believe that 2012 pennies will become a key date. If you think about it the 2012 pennies will only be minted for 4 months. Then any reaming stock of 2012 pennies the mint has when the withdraw begins will be destroyed, leaving a relatively small number of coins compared to past years that reached circulation, or hoards. I think it will kind of be like the 1921 5 cent piece where the mint only produces them for a part of the year and then they melt most of the stock.

 

[srcdco]

I know about the law, but it is pretty much unenforceable if you physically take them across the border. First, you don't go through American customs when you go into Canada. Second, I doubt that Canadian customs is going to enforce the US law, nor would they have jurisdiction to do so, and to do that they'd have to physically search every vehicle that crosses.
I bet you could get away with it if you shipped them via FedEx or UPS and bypass the US Postal Service, which would have the authority to open and search your packages.

It would be interesting to know if there was a Canadian law in the mid-1960's that limited the number of coins that could be exported. Whether there was or not, Canadian coins flooded into the US as they were now worth more than their American counterparts.

Scott

 

[NYScrap]

I think that this is another step toward a more plastic world. If you read further down in the article it talks about how credit purchases won't be affected by this change, only cash purchases... at which point the total will be rounded to the nearest 5 cents. The wave of the future....

 

[Canadian hunter]

Interesting point you have. I think I have to go to the banks and buy some new 2012 rolls of cents, just to be sure. Yes, my penny hunting will be the concentration of my time and efforts. I still have to complete the wheat cent varieties as well as
King George the Fifth.

 

[thurmownator]

Ultimately this will force the US to also eliminate the cent. They will end up being taken to Canada to circulate there, which will force the US to also stop production.

Scott

What am I missing here ? If Canada discontinues the one cent coin, why would US cents be "....taken to Canada to circulate there..." ?? If Canada discontinued their own one cent coin, why would they accept ours ?

 

[MIhunter]

I don't think they will. Merchants will get used to rounding change to the nearst 5 cents. By 2013 the penny will be gone from cash drawers. Banks will continue to receive a trickle of pennies as people slowly cash in whatever pennies they have at home.

Very soon getting a penny from a bank will be like getting a 50 cent coin or large cent or silver 5 cent coin.

 

[BCD11]

Alex Reeves, senior manager of communications at the RCM, said that the Mint will recover the copper in all 1996 and earlier cents as well as later cents containing copper (some years several alloys have been used). Many earlier cents have already been harvested through the RCM’s profitable Alloy Recovery Program.

Anyone know for sure if U.S. Treasury/mints has something similar to the RCM Alloy Recovery Program?