Goodbye Penny?

I think that things should already include the sales tax, like in Europe. What a hassle!

IMHO, the cent, nickel, both should just stop minting them, and let the remaining coinage in circulation slowly diminish, to it's end. The prices today are ten times as high as before, and without the cent, and nickelfigured in anymore, the dime will be the smallest coin in circulation, because the cent, and nickel will solowly disappear. (hoarding for melt). It will be a battle between the recyclers, and collectors, as to who gets what! Get rid of the Hundred? Yes, All of them , the good, the bad, and the "ugly, one dollar bill. It will in effect amount to a ten % increase in prices, without making a satatement to that effect. Not to mention not having to haul a gag fuill of small change to pay that "9/10" everywhere posted.
Someone mentioned getting rid of the 'senators", along with the cent. Good idea, but I would modify it to where the "ELECTORAL COLLEGE" be abolished! That way My vote, and YIOUR viote would elect a president, not the "select few' who are vulnerable to ($$$$$$),pressure from the outside! Along that same line, make the presidential term six years, with NO RELECTION, and limit the term in the senate, and house toten. No more lifetime jobe there, and ( taking their "self granted pay raises, home with them (should they retire and go home). Let them have the same health care system everyone eklse has<(or does not have), and get their Social Security, same as you and I , based on their income. Dream on, dreamer.....
Dick

Very interesting article. However IMHO I want to retain the one cent piece and contrary to what everyone else here is saying I can and do use one cent pieces every day in the parking meter. Yes - here where I live the parking meter still takes 1 cent coins and I get 1 minute of parking time per cent. There is no limit as to how many pennies I may deposit. If I'm willing to stand and deposit 60 cents - I will get my hour of parking. Another use - raising money. A lot of places up here in my neck of the wood are having pennie drives - raising money for charity. Not many people object to being asked for their pennies - it's just small change right? Wrong - those pennies all add up over time to great big dollars. So for me - I'd like to keep the penny and continue using them for parking and charity and of course for collecting!

While it would be sad to see the penny removed from circulation, the reality is that Bank of Canada has managed to knock about 95% of the value off the dollar since it formed.

Australia had 1 and 2 cent coin but removed them in the 1990s. Here prices ending in 1,2,6,7 are rounded down and prices ending in 3,4,8,9 are rounded up (this is Swedish rounding). That's only if you pay with cash, if you make an electronic payment it's for the exact amount. So if you're concerned with cents adding up you can actually avoid rounding payments up altogether.

And in New Zealand they've already removed their 5 cent coin from circulation and everything is rounded to the nearest 10 cent.

You guys need to look up "Swedish rounding", as I can tell some of you are confusing it with rounding up. 5 cents is 5 cents. As is 4 cents, and 6 cents, and 3 cents and 7 cents. 8 or 9 cents is 10 cents, 11 or 12 cents get rounded down to 10 cents. This rounding system, in theory, evens out and you're not getting ripped for a few cents every transaction. I also favor getting rid of the nickel, and having 10c as the lowest denomination.

Oasis is absolutely right though, besides debating abolishing the penny, people need to ask themselves why they are worthless. I'd guess with confidence that less that 1 person in 100 understands that debt - not money - is the foundation of the current monetary system.

Well said Libertad

Kyrio: Well then give me all your pennies as they are useless to you. I'll put them to good use. I bet you if I offered to give you a hundred face in pre1981 pennies you won't say they were useless.

Unless the government can say we will save x amount of dollars and everyones basic tax allowance will reflect this difference (after all we are all saving aren't we) then the government will just pocket the money anyways and blow it in some unaccountable way. At least if the government has to actually make pennies then at least something actually got done with our tax dollars. So many government positions are basically glamorous and high paying "welfare" jobs, lets remove those first to save some real money.

Once everything goes electronic we will be paying the banks for "connivence". And if we get rid of all money the banks will be able to charge a buck or two a transaction and there won't be a choice. The last thing you want is the banks in control of the money.

unofficial) Message from the mint PR dept:
Penny, GO away!!! you actually do cost us more more than you are worth!!
However, stay around for the fools we call: our clients ( chuckle....flattering word for some coin collectors collecting the wrong coins)
because "our valued Clients" will make sure we are profitable by us re-issuing the penny for you, specially for you who do not know better.The penny, with (of course}some errors automatically built in to the issues, like a leaf facing the wrong way,or it showing 2 cents instead of 1 which will have the forum guys go bananas..... all about a worthless penny.... BUT all about our business goals.
so true......
oh each issue will be adjusted to overseas demands to keep up interest.( and there is tons of it because our marketing people do an excellent job telling the world how RARE and limited THESE issues are.

Joke aside!
Are you forum members aware that our mint does in fact make some issues that are NOT available here and are ONLY meant for export....?
However, they will "send" a few of these "very valuable" coins to some very select dealers to create interest...?
WHY?
cause it is supposed to be " legal Canadian Currency"...
beats me.....
I know all our money is still legal tender back to 1858, regardless of age.
BUT when was the last time you received an $ 8 or $ 4 coin in your change , or spent one? or even know that there is such an issue? It is a JOKE that makes $$$$$$$$$$
I think that you would be ending up with stainless steel bracelets at the local RCMP lock up if you were caught trying to pay for a greasy papa burger with one..
Anny officers like to chime in? ( I know, there are some)
sorry, but that is the last rumbling" I will do for a while...