Image 2012_01_01 – Uploaded by DennisSylvesterHurd
The federal government has announced that it will be getting rid of the one cent coin (penny). Starting fall 2012, the coin will no longer be circulated, but it will continue to be accepted throughout the country.
The cost to produce a penny is 1.6 cents per coin. A 2007 survey revealed that only 37 percent of Canadians used pennies. These coins are often hoarded in piggy banks, lost, and never used forcing the Canadian Mint to produce a large number of them.
The 2012 budget revealed that it would make sense to stop producing the coin. Retailers will now have to round totals to the nearest nickle when accepting tender and a penny isn’t available.
