US penny

[Topaz]

Now that the government is not going to make anymore pennies, I wondering what is going to happen to the US penny in Canada? Is the MInt going to collect them too but return the penny to the US, once the penny comes fully out of circulation? Anyone know?

[Sleipnir]

Now that the government is not going to make anymore pennies, I wondering what is going to happen to the US penny in Canada? Is the MInt going to collect them too but return the penny to the US, once the penny comes fully out of circulation? Anyone know?

....good question I'm not sure. I have a feeling that U.S pennies will be rejected by Canadian businesses due to their singular digit value.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Sleipnir

[GostHacked]

Same recently for Canada, the penny is being ditched. And everything will be rounded UP for the business's benefit.

[TimG]

Same recently for Canada, the penny is being ditched. And everything will be rounded UP for the business's benefit.

Nonsense. Legally businesses are required to round down for 1 or 2 cents and round up for 3 or 4 cents. In practice I suspect many businesses will round down always (this is what happened in Australia).

[The_Squid]

Nonsense. Legally businesses are required to round down for 1 or 2 cents and round up for 3 or 4 cents. In practice I suspect many businesses will round down always (this is what happened in Australia).

No they are not required to legally do so, they are only suggestions.

[The_Squid]

Now that the government is not going to make anymore pennies, I wondering what is going to happen to the US penny in Canada? Is the MInt going to collect them too but return the penny to the US, once the penny comes fully out of circulation? Anyone know?

Roll them up with the Canadian pennies and turn them in. After that, it's not your problem.

[bush_cheney2004]

Why are Canadians holding U.S. pennies ? I could see bundles of U.S. dead presidents as part of drug deals, but pennies ????

I throw all Canadian coins into the trash because they jam up coin counting and vending machines.

[The_Squid]

Why are Canadians holding U.S. pennies ? I could see bundles of U.S. dead presidents as part of drug deals, but pennies ????

I throw all Canadian coins into the trash because they jam up coin counting and vending machines.

Because they work just like Canadian pennies here. They are just mixed up with other change, no different than nickels, dimes and quarters.

Maybe <1% of change I see and use is American.

Edited February 4, 2013 by The_Squid

[bush_cheney2004]

Because they work just like Canadian pennies here. They are just mixed up with other change, no different than nickels, dimes and quarters.

Roger that, but do businesses and banks take U.S. coins straight up as Canadian money ? I remember paying for something with U.S. dollars at a Timmy's in Ontario back in the 80's, but it was obvious why they were happy to do so.

Canadian coins are not given such a warm welcome throughout the U.S.:

If you live near the Canadian border, or in South Florida, Arizona and other popular tourist destinations, you see a lot Canadian coins. They show up in your pocket change, in your cash box, and often in coin rolls you buy from your local bank. Unfortunately, many stores won’t accept them and your bank won’t buy them back from you. If you deal with lots of change, this can be a big and expensive problem.

Canadian pennies use to be 98% copper, but recently they are mostly zinc or steel junk.

Edited February 5, 2013 by bush_cheney2004

[jbg]

Same recently for Canada, the penny is being ditched. And everything will be rounded UP for the business's benefit.

So I guess the Gordon Lightfoot lyrics "I ain't got a penny for the cotton jenny to spend...." no longer apply?

[The_Squid]

Roger that, but do businesses and banks take U.S. coins straight up as Canadian money ? I remember paying for something with U.S. dollars at a Timmy's in Ontario back in the 80's, but it was obvious why they were happy to do so.

Canadian coins are not given such a warm welcome throughout the U.S.:

If you live near the Canadian border, or in South Florida, Arizona and other popular tourist destinations, you see a lot Canadian coins. They show up in your pocket change, in your cash box, and often in coin rolls you buy from your local bank. Unfortunately, many stores won’t accept them and your bank won’t buy them back from you. If you deal with lots of change, this can be a big and expensive problem.

Canadian pennies use to be 98% copper, but recently they are mostly zinc or steel junk.

If you bring in enough US cash, you can get the exchange rate, which is essentially par right now so what's the point?

I don't really care about american issues with a few Canadian coins. Without those tourists your country would be even in worse shape than it is, so i recommend being grateful rather than sniveling about a few Canadian coins.

As for precious metals, a $20 bill is made from a bit of plastic (used to be paper) but so what? The value of a coin has no relation to its precious metal content.

Edited February 5, 2013 by The_Squid

[bush_cheney2004]

If you bring in enough US cash, you can get the exchange rate, which is essentially par right now so what's the point?

Who travels with so much cash these days besides drug dealers ? Ever heard of Visa ?

I don't really care about american issues with a few Canadian coins. Without those tourists your country would be even in worse shape than it is, so i recommend being grateful rather than sniveling about a few Canadian coins.

Agreed...somebody here is concerned about US pennies in Canada, which is apparently a major issue compared to the canadian coins we send to the landfill. As for those tourists, notoriously small spenders and even worse tippers.

As for precious metals, a $20 bill is made from a bit of plastic (used to be paper) but so what? The value of a coin has no relation to its precious metal content.

Of course...that's why Canada has stopped making pennies.

[kimmy]

Lobbyists working for US zinc producers hope to keep the penny in production for a long time!

-k

[guyser]

Lobbyists working for US zinc producers hope to keep the penny in production for a long time!

-k

At costs of 0.024 per coin , why wouldnt they.

$120M to make $50M. Oh well.

[bush_cheney2004]

I like pennies....not a burden at all. How or why the U.S. versions end up in Canada is another matter entirely. U.S. cent coins reflect the nation's history, complete with almost as many direct language references as guns and bullets ! They are embedded in the culture and the object of many applications and products, from checking tire treadwear depth to making a wish at a fountain.

Long live the U.S. penny.

[Guest American Woman]

I like pennies....not a burden at all. How or why the U.S. versions end up in Canada is another matter entirely. U.S. cent coins reflect the nation's history, complete with almost as many direct language references as guns and bullets ! They are embedded in the culture and the object of many applications and products, from checking tire treadwear depth to making a wish at a fountain.

Long live the U.S. penny.

I like pennies, too. I like the history, as you say, and I like the idea that something so small does have value; pennies add up - and it's one of the first things kids learn. Besides, without pennies, there would be no "find a penny, pick it up - all day long, you'll have good luck."

[Moonlight Graham]

What is the Canadian mint of whomever doing with the pennies once they have them? melting them down?

They could do the same with US pennies if they're made of similar metals. Or maybe just roll them up and exchange them at just about any major bank in the world for cash.

[Guest Manny]

<Content deleted by Manny>

Edited April 4, 2013 by Manny

[GostHacked]

I like pennies....not a burden at all. How or why the U.S. versions end up in Canada is another matter entirely. U.S. cent coins reflect the nation's history, complete with almost as many direct language references as guns and bullets ! They are embedded in the culture and the object of many applications and products, from checking tire treadwear depth to making a wish at a fountain.

Long live the U.S. penny.

The US greenback is the new penny.

[Moonlight Graham]

The US greenback is the new penny.

The US needs to make their 2-dollar bill more prominantly used. Whenever I travel to the US I seem to end up with a ton of 1 dollar bills. Good for tipping at restuarants etc. but otherwise can be annoying. It makes me think I have a lot more money than I do "wow look at all these bills I have....oh wait AW MAN!". haha.

I think loonies and toonies are maybe even more annoying. I hate having the weight and bulk of those coins in my pants and wallet (i have a little pocket on my wallet where i can put a few coins). When I put them in my pocket they can often fall out when I sit down. Probably much less of an issue for women since they carry purses than are good for holding coins.

[Bonam]

I think 1 cent coins are pretty much useless. What's the point of having a coin for which you can't actually buy anything? Even the nickel is close to useless.

As for loonies and toonies being annoying... I actually disagree. They are great for vending machines, laundry machines, bus fare, etc. A lot more reliable and robust to use a coin than hope to find a machine with a bill reader that works, especially as the bills get a bit worn, crumpled, etc. However, I don't think there's a point in having coins that are only a factor of 2 different in cost. It's easy enough to have 2 loonies instead of 1 toonie, etc. Currency denominations should go at least by factors of 4-5.

And they should all be divisible by each other. For example you should be able to take any high denomination coin/bill and trade it for N lower denomination coins/bills, where N is a whole number. That doesn't work between quarters and dimes (1 quarter = 2.5 dimes). It doesn't work between $5 bills and toonies either.

Here's the denominations I think we should have in circulation:

5c, 20c, $1, $5, $20, $100

Where the first three are coins and the last three are bills (arguably, the $5 may as well be a coin pretty soon as well).

Edited February 8, 2013 by Bonam

[bush_cheney2004]

1 cent slot machine paying off big in Las Vegas:

[ZenOps]

The US does have a $1 copper coin, they made Billions of them.

They are called Susan B Anthony, Sacagawea, and Presidential dollars and at 8 grams, are slightly smaller than an old 1967 British penny (9.4 grams)

Britain also does have a 5 Pound coin (converts to about $7.50) it has been made of 28.28 grams of cupronickel since 1990.

[Wilber]

The five pound coins are commemorative and are rarely seen in circulation. They are legal tender but a lot of places won't take them.

I don't mind pennies so much but I wish the US would ditch the dollar bill. It's like carrying paper change. Worth a lot less than Shinplasters were in their day.

[ZenOps]

The 8-gram US copper dollar is rejected even though it is legal tender as well. Many Canadians have never seen a 15.62 gram nickel dollar even though they were made from 1968 to 1986 (They were hoarded and rarely circulated)

In fact, it seems that most people in the US will take a $5 bill over a one ounce Silver Eagle, as Mark Dice seems to have proven. Not that I'm surprised at all.