Canadian Cent Coins: Friend or Foe

[DustDevilMarc]

I have been collecting jars of Canadian pennies along side the American wheat coins that I find.

Is there any reason to keep the Canadian cent coins?

Happy Hunting!

Marc

 

[BigWaveDave]

I've told this story before, I forget the specific dollar amounts, but it makes for a good read..
I CRH'd pennies as a kid for years, and also saved my Canadian cents, along with all other denominations I could get my hands on...(this was in Mass)....anyways, when I was 15, my folks took us on a road trip to Nova Scotia, and this was my big chance to spend MY money, that I had been saving...a whopping $25 dollars!!!
So to be fair to my little brother, they gave him the same amount as spending $$.... Then we get to exchange place at the border, his $25 becomes something like $33....I was pissed!

My advice? Spend the hell out of that Canadian money.

 

[Mackaydon]

I assume you are referring only to small (19.1 mm) cent pieces versus the older (pre-1921) and larger (25.5 mm) pieces.
Before you throw them back into general circulation, I suggest you get a coin book on Canadian coins (CC) and see if any of your CCs are of value--and a lot of value will be determined by the coins' condition and rarity. My general rule is that any CC minted after 1955 can be placed back in general circulation without worrying about its value; the pre-1956 coins should be first examined for rarity and condition.
Don.....

 

[CW3(ret) US Army]

I have been collecting jars of Canadian pennies along side the American wheat coins that I find.

Is there any reason to keep the Canadian cent coins?

Happy Hunting!

Marc

I keep all the Canadian coins I find including cents. When I go to Canada, I bring the rolled Canadian coins with me & trade them at a TD Bank branch for Canadian currency. We were up in Canada last month & I was able to convert $740 rolled Canadian coins into Canadian currency. What we didn't spend in Canada, I was able to exchange for American money after we came back home. Bottom line is any Canadian coin including cents are friends to be used while in Canada.
HH
Gary

 

[IceePirate]

They did stop minting their 1 cent coin though, so wouldn't it be worthwhile to start holding onto some of them?

 

[ArkieBassMan]

I would rather not get any foreign coins, unless they're silver, have enough numismatic value to warrant the trouble, and/or I can get enough value to warrant the trouble of getting them exchanged for US currency.

Here in the South, merchants or banks will not take foreign coins. Even though they may pass them on to me, I pull them out of circulation because they are not legal tender here. Its doubtful that I will ever travel outside the country or accumulate enough to go through the hassle of getting them converted into spendable cash. Therefore, they're all likely just "lost money" to me.

If your saving common Canadian cents "because the don't make them any more" and think they will appreciate in value, I think you're likely wasting your time. I would imagine many people are saving them just for that reason and its likely that the demand will never surpass the supply. However, if you are a copper hoarder, according to Wikipedia all the small Canadian cents through 1996 are at least 95.5% copper with the majority being 98%. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(Canadian_coin)

 

[gordon and tanner]

Tanner and I have sold them on Craigs List. We live close to the Canadian Border. When we search a box of cents we usually get about 50 Canadian pennies. We save any before 1996 (I believe all copper) We have sold 20 rolls twice for $25 each. You are not going to get rich selling them, but they are easy to pull and toss aside. When we roll them we do not count out 50 pennies we just load them in a roll and estimate 50 (saves time). Below is the ad we placed on Craigs list. Any King Georges are set aside in their own plastic cylinder. We have sold 50 cent rolls of King Georges for $5.

I have for sale 20 rolls of Canadian pennies. Only $25. The dates range from 1963 to 1996. The penny's composition is at least 95.5 per cent copper. These were all pulled from circulation.

I am not a Canadian penny expert. They are not making anymore Canadian pennies.
The metal coin storage tray is not included, just the rolls are for sale. I you want the aluminum coin tray you can have it for an extra $5 (These are hard come by, as banks do not like to give them away)

Keep on Searching
Dad and Tanner

PS Being so close to the border we often end up with a lot of Canadian coin. In the Detroit area Chase will exchange Canadian coin on par with us coins.

 

[usandthem]

I have a Canadian penny collection. I'm missing about twelve dates. The rest can be sold and melted for their copper value here in the States. Mine are all rolled and in a box waiting ....... for something'.