Penny (Canadian coin)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Canada | |
| Value | 0.01 CAD |
|---|---|
| Mass | 2.35 g |
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Thickness | 1.45 mm |
| Edge | smooth |
| Composition | 94% steel, 1.5% Ni, 4.5% Cu plating |
| Years of minting | 1858–present |
| Catalog number | CC 20 |
| Obverse | |
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| Design | Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada |
| Designer | Susanna Blunt |
| Design date | 2003 |
| Reverse | |
 |
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| Design | Maple leaf branch |
| Designer | G.E. Kruger Gray |
| Design date | 1937 |
In Canada, a penny is a coin worth one cent or 1⁄100 of a dollar. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official national term of the coin is the "one-cent piece", but in practice the term penny or cent is universal. Before, a penny referred to a two cent coin. When the two cent coin was discontinued, "penny" took over as the new one cent coins name. Penny was likely readily adopted because the previous coinage in Canada (up to 1858) was the British monetary system, where Canada used British pounds and pence as coinage alongside U.S. decimal coins and Spanish milled dollars.
In Canadian French, the penny is also called a cent, which is spelled the same way as the French word for "hundred" but the letter "t" is pronounced only for the penny. Slang terms include cenne, cenne noire or sou noir, "black penny", though common Quebec French usage is now sous.
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[edit] Description
Like all Canadian coins, the obverse depicts the reigning monarch at the time of issue. The current obverse depicts Queen Elizabeth the Second, successor to King George the Sixth; her likeness has seen three design updates in the last century, the first occurring in 1965, a 1990 update to the design of Dora de Pedery-Hunt, and the 2003 update designed by Susanna Blunt.[1] A special reverse side, depicting a rock dove, was issued in 1967 as part of a Centennial commemoration.[2] It was designed by the Canadian artist Alex Colville.
The current coin has a round, smooth edge, and this has been the case for most of its history; however, from 1982 to 1996, the coin was twelve-sided. This was done to help the visually impaired identify the coin.[3]
[edit] Abolition
There have been repeated talks about getting rid of the penny as it is estimated that it costs the Royal Canadian Mint 1.8 cents to produce a one-cent coin,[4] even though the Royal Canadian Mint claims it costs only 0.8¢ to produce a penny. [5] The Canadian penny costs at least $130 million annually to keep in circulation, estimates a financial institution (the Desjardins Group) that called for an end to the penny.[5] According to a 2007 survey, only 37 percent of Canadians use pennies, but the government continues to produce about 816 million pennies per year, equal to 25 pennies per Canadian.[5]
On March 31, 2008, NDP MP Pat Martin introduced a private member's bill that would eliminate the penny from circulation.[6] The Swedish rounding system is the suggested replacement for cash transactions.[7]
[edit] History
The first Canadian cents were struck in 1858 and had a diameter of 25.4 mm (1 inch) and a weight of 4.54 grams.[8] The coins of 1858 were larger than modern one cent coins, and have a diameter that is a little larger than the modern 25¢ piece (its diameter being 23.58 mm). These coins were struck in Britain on the planchet of the British halfpenny and had nearly an equivalent value. These coins were originally issued to bring some kind of order to the Canadian monetary system, which, until 1858, relied on British coinage, bank and commercial tokens (francophones calling them sous, a slang term that survives), U.S. currency and Spanish milled dollars. The first issues, however, were unpopular and originally had to be sold at a discount. Pennies were issued only sporadically in the third quarter of the 19th century. They were used in the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia upon Confederation in 1867. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia issued their own coinage prior to that date, and British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland continued to issue "pennies" until they joined Confederation. The high price of copper forced a reduction to the current size in 1920.
[edit] Composition throughout history
| Years | Mass | Diameter/Shape | Composition[9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–present | 2.35 g | 19.05 mm, round | 94% steel, 1.5% nickel, 4.5% copper plated zinc |
| 1997–1999 | 2.25 g | 19.05 mm, round | 98.4% zinc, 1.6% copper plating |
| 1982–1996 | 2.5 g | 19.1 mm, 12-sided | 98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc |
| 1980–1981 | 2.8 g | 19.0 mm, round | 98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc |
| 1978–1979 | 3.24 g | 19.05 mm, round | 98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc |
| 1942–1977 | 3.24 g | 19.05 mm, round | 98% copper, 0.5% tin, 1.5% zinc |
| 1920–1941 | 3.24 g | 19.05 mm, round | 95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc |
| 1876–1920 | 5.67 g | 25.4 mm, round | 95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc |
| 1858–1859 | 4.54 g | 25.4 mm, round | 95% copper, 4% tin, 1% zinc |
From May 2006 to October 2008, all circulation Canadian pennies from 1942 to 1996 had an intrinsic value of over $0.02 CAD based on the increasing spot price of copper in the commodity markets. The break-even price for a 2.8 g solid copper penny is $1.61 USD/lb, with prices during this period reaching as high as $4 USD/lb.[10]
[edit] First strikes
| Year | Theme | Mintage | Issue price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | First day cover | 1,799 | $14.95 |
| 2006 | With new mint mark | 5,000 | $29.95 |
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.mint.ca/store/mint/learn/faces-of-the-monarch-1100026?cat=Faces+of+the+Monarch&nId=1100026&nodeGroup=Learn
- ^ The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, W.K. Cross, p. 72, The Charlton Press, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-88968-297-6
- ^ Coins of Canada, J.A. Haxby & R.C. Willey, Unitrade Press (2002), ISBN 1-894763-09-2
- ^ Fisher&Chande
- ^ a b c Financial group lobbies for 'penny-less' Canadian economy – Yahoo! Canada News
- ^ MP to introduce bill to eliminate the penny from CBC News
- ^ Save the penny or leave the penny? from CBC News
- ^ The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, W.K. Cross, p. 57, The Charlton Press, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-88968-297-6
- ^ Royal Canadian Mint – Monnaie Royale Canadienne
- ^ Kitco – Spot Copper Historical Charts and Graphs – Copper charts – Industrial metals
[edit] External links
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