Penny (Canadian coin)

For other uses, see Penny (disambiguation).

In Canada, a penny (minted 1858–2012) is an out-of-production coin worth one cent, or 1⁄100 of a dollar. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official term for the coin is the one-cent piece, but in practice the terms penny and cent predominate. Penny was likely readily adopted because the previous coinage in Canada (up to 1858) was the British monetary system, where Canada used British pounds, shillings, and pence as coinage alongside U.S. decimal coins and Spanish milled dollars.

Penny

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	1858–2012
Catalog number	CC 20
Obverse
Design	Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada
Designer	Susanna Blunt
Design date	2003
Design discontinued	2013
Reverse
Design	Maple leaf branch
Designer	G.E. Kruger Gray
Design date	1937
Design discontinued	2013

In Canadian French, the penny is often known by the loanword cent; in contrast with the heteronymous word meaning "hundred" (French: [sɑ̃] ^ⓘ), this keeps the English pronunciation [sɛnt] ^ⓘ. Slang terms include cenne, cenne noire, or sou noir (black penny), although common Quebec French usage is sou.

Production of the penny ceased in May 2012,^[1] and the Royal Canadian Mint ceased distribution of them as of February 4, 2013.^[2] However, the coin remains legal tender.^[3] Nevertheless, once distribution of the coin ceased, vendors were no longer expected to return pennies as change for cash purchases and were encouraged to round purchases to the nearest five cents.^[4] Goods can still be priced in one-cent increments, with non-cash transactions like credit cards being paid to the exact cent.^[5]

Description

Like all Canadian coins, the obverse depicts the reigning Canadian monarch at the time of issue. The final obverse depicts Queen Elizabeth II; her likeness was introduced in 1953 and later saw three design updates, the first occurring in 1965, a 1990 update to the design of Dora de Pedery-Hunt, and the 2003 update designed by Susanna Blunt.^[6] A special reverse side, depicting a rock dove, was issued in 1967 as part of a centennial commemoration.^[7] It was designed by the Canadian artist Alex Colville, and its use in 1967 marked the only time the 1937 maple leaf design was not used for the penny before it was discontinued in 2012.^[8][9] The maple twig depicted on the coin is botanically incorrect as the phyllotaxis of the twig on the coin is clearly alternate, while maples always have opposite leaves.^[10]

Most pennies have a round, smooth edge. Pennies minted from 1982 to 1996 are twelve-sided. This was to help the visually impaired identify the coin.^[11] The 1997 copper-plated zinc coin proved difficult to plate in the twelve-sided shape, hence the mint reverted to a round shape.^[12]

History

 

 

An 1876 penny featuring Queen Victoria

 

 

A 1902 penny featuring King Edward VII

 

 

A 1911 penny featuring King George V

 

 

A 1920 penny featuring King George V, the first year of the small penny

 

 

A 1937 penny featuring King George VI

The first Canadian cent was minted in 1858 and had a diameter of 1 inch (25.4 mm) and a weight of 1⁄100 pound (4.54 g). These cents 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, an historical term from the French currency), U.S. currency and Spanish milled dollars. The coin's specifications were chosen with the intention of the coins also being useful as measuring tools. However, their light weight compared to the bank and merchant halfpenny tokens readily available at the time was a serious hindrance to their acceptance by the public. Some of the coins were even sold at a 20% discount, and were inherited by the Dominion government in 1867. Fresh production of new cents (with the weight increased to 1⁄5 ounce or 5.67 grams) was not required until 1876.^[13]

The large cents of 1858–1920 were significantly larger than modern one-cent coins and even slightly larger than the modern 25-cent piece (its diameter being 23.88 millimetres or 0.940 inches). After Confederation, these large cent coins were struck on the planchet of the British halfpenny and were roughly the same value. Pennies were issued 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 had issued their own coinage prior to that date, with British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland continuing to issue "pennies" until they joined Confederation. The coin was reduced to its modern size in 1920, bringing it closer in size to the American penny.^[8]

1936 dot cent

The rare 1936 dot cent is as notable in Canadian numismatics as the 50-cent piece of 1921. There were four minted specimens of this coin, produced with the dot to show they were made in 1937 while the mint was waiting for new dies due to a delay caused by the abdication of King Edward VIII and the need to create new dies for his successor, George VI. The last one sold at Heritage Auctions in January 2010 for over US$400,000 before taxes.^[9] It was graded specimen 66 by the Professional Coin Grading Service. Three known examples are in private collections, and the fourth is not in the Ottawa Currency Museum; it is one of few gaps in the museum's collection.

1947 Maple Leaf issue

In contrast to the 1936 issues, the 1948 cents dated 1947 and specially marked are very common. These 1947 Maple Leaf coins were made while the dies were being changed to show George VI was no longer Emperor of India, as the title of "Emperor of India" was dropped from the titles of the Crown per article 7.2 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom's Indian Independence Act 1947.^{[citation needed]}

Composition throughout history

Years	Mass	Diameter/shape	Composition^[14]
1858–1859	4.54 g (70 gr)	25.4 mm (1 in), round	95% copper, 4% tin, 1% zinc (bronze)
1876–1920	5.67 g (87+1⁄2 gr)	25.4 mm (1 in), round	95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc
1920–1941	3.24 g (50 gr)	19.1 mm (3⁄4 in), round	95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc
1942–1977	3.24 g (50 gr)	19.1 mm (3⁄4 in), round	98% copper, 0.5% tin, 1.5% zinc
1978–1979	3.24 g (50 gr)	19.1 mm (3⁄4 in), round	98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc
1980–1981	2.8 g	19.1 mm (3⁄4 in), round	98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc
1982–1996	2.5 g	19.1 mm (3⁄4 in), 12-sided	98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc
1997–1999	2.25 g	19.1 mm (3⁄4 in), round	98.4% zinc, 1.6% copper plating
2000–2012	2.35 g	19.1 mm (3⁄4 in), round	94% steel, 1.5% nickel, 4.5% copper plating

Between 2000 and the end of the penny's distribution in 2012, the 1-cent coin was produced using either the copper-plated steel or copper-plated zinc compositions.^[15]

Based on technical specifications provided by the Mint Act, only pennies produced from 1982 to their discontinuation in 2013 are still legally "circulation coins".^[16]

From May 2006 to October 2008, all circulation Canadian pennies from 1942 to 1996 had a melt value of over CA$0.02 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 US$1.61/lb., with prices during this period reaching as high as US$4/lb.^[17]

Abolition

See also: Withdrawal of low-denomination coins

There had been repeated debate about ceasing production of the penny because of the cost of producing it and a perceived lack of usefulness. In mid-2010 the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance began a study on the future of the one-cent coin.^[18] On December 14, 2010, the Senate finance committee recommended^[19] the penny be removed from circulation, arguing that a century of inflation had eroded the value and usefulness of the one-cent piece. A 2007 survey indicated that 37 percent of Canadians used pennies, but the government continued to produce about 816 million pennies per year, equal to 24 pennies per Canadian.^[20] The Royal Canadian Mint had been forced to produce large numbers of pennies because they disappeared from circulation, as people hoarded these coins or simply avoided using them. In 2011 the Royal Canadian Mint had minted 1.1 billion pennies, more than doubling the 2010 production number of 486.2 million pennies.^[21] In late 2010, finance committee members of the Canadian Senate estimated that the average Canadian had as many as 600 pennies hoarded away, taken out of circulation.^[19]

On March 29, 2012, the federal government announced in its budget^[22] that it would withdraw the penny from circulation in the fall of 2012. The budget announcement eliminating the penny cited the cost of producing it at 1.6 cents.^[22][23] The final penny was minted at the RCM's Winnipeg, Manitoba, plant on the morning of May 4, 2012,^[23] and was later entrusted to the Bank of Canada Museum in Ottawa.^[24][25][26] Existing pennies will remain legal tender indefinitely;^[27] however, pennies were withdrawn from circulation on February 4, 2013.^[23][28] The Currency Act says that "A payment in coins [...] is a legal tender for no more than [...] twenty-five cents if the denomination is one cent."^[29]

On February 4, 2013, the Mint began melting down the estimated 35 billion pennies that were in circulation.^[30] On the same day, Google celebrated the beginning of the end for the Canadian penny with a Google Doodle.^[31]

Cash transactions are now rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 cents.^[32] The rounding is not done on individual items but on the total bill of sale, with totals being rounded to the nearest multiple of 5, i.e., totals ending in 1 or 2 round down to 0, totals ending in 3,4,6, or 7 round to 5, and totals ending in 8 or 9 round up to 10.

To honour the penny, the Royal Canadian Mint released several silver and gold coins and collectibles on their website,^[23] including a miniature gold coin,^[33] a gold-plated silver coin,^[34] a five-ounce silver coin,^[35] and a five-coin set of silver coins.^{[citation needed]}

Commemorative editions

Commemorative editions of the Canadian penny

Image	Year	Theme	Artist	Mintage	Notes
	1967	Canadian centennial	Alex Colville	345,140,645	Features a rock dove in flight. Dated 1867–1967.

First strikes

Year	Theme	Mintage	Issue price
2005	First day cover	1,799	$14.95
2006	With new mint mark	5,000	$29.95

Mintage

List of the mintage of every year

Victoria Year Mintage^[36] 1858 421,000 1859 9,579,000 1876 H 4,000,000 1881 H 2,000,000 1882 H 4,000,000 1884 2,500,000 1886 1,500,000 1887 1,500,000 1888 4,000,000 1890 H 1,000,000 1891 1,452,500 1892 1,200,000 1893 2,000,000 1894 1,000,000 1895 1,200,000 1896 2,000,000 1897 1,500,000 1898 H 1,000,000 1899 2,400,000 1900 1900 H 2,600,000 1901 4,100,000

Edward VII Year Mintage^[37] 1902 3,000,000 1903 4,000,000 1904 2,500,000 1905 2,000,000 1906 4,100,000 1907 2,400,000 1907 H 800,000 1908 2,401,506 1909 3,973,339 1910 5,146,487

George V (large) Year Mintage 1911 4,663,486 1912 5,107,642 1913 5,735,405 1914 3,405,958 1915 4,932,134 1916 11,022,367 1917 11,899,254 1918 12,970,798 1919 11,279,634 1920 6,762,247

George V (small) Year Mintage 1920 15,483,923 1921 7,601,726 1922 1,243,635 1923 1,019,002 1924 1,593,195 1925 1,000,622 1926 2,143,372 1927 3,553,928 1928 9,144,860 1929 12,159,840 1930 2,538,613 1931 3,842,776 1932 21,316,190 1933 12,079,310 1934 7,042,358 1935 7,526,400 1936 1936 Dot 8,768,769

George VI Year Mintage 1937 10,040,231 1938 18,365,608 1939 21,600,319 1940 85,740,532 1941 56,336,011 1942 76,113,708 1943 89,111,969 1944 44,131,216 1945 77,268,591 1946 56,662,071 1947 31,093,901 1947 ML 43,855,448 1948 ATD 1948 ABD 1949 ATD 25,767,779 1949 ABD 33,128,933 1950 60,444,992 1951 80,430,379 1952 67,631,736

Elizabeth II Year Mintage 1953 67,806,016 1954 22,181,760 1955 56,403,193 1956 78,685,535 1957 100,601,792 1958 59,385,679 1959 83,615,343 1960 75,772,775 1961 139,598,404 1962 227,244,069 1963 279,076,334 1964 484,655,322 1965 304,441,082 1966 183,644,388 1967 345,140,645 1968 329,695,772 1969 335,240,929 1970 344,145,010 1971 298,228,936 1972 451,304,591 1973 457,058,489 1974 692,058,489 1975 642,618,000 1976 701,122,890 1977 453,050,666 1978 911,170,647 1979 753,942,953

Elizabeth II (cont.) Year Mintage 1980 911,800,000 1981 1,209,468,500 1982 876,036,898 1983 975,510,000 1984 838,225,000 1985 771,772,500 1986 788,285,000 1987 774,549,000 1988 482,676,752 1989 1,066,628,200 1990 218,035,000 1991 831,001,000 1992 673,512,000 1993 808,585,000 1994 639,516,000 1995 624,983,000 1996 445,746,000 1997 549,868,000 1998 999,578,000 1999 1,089,625,000 2000 902,506,000 2001 928,434,000 2002 830,040,000 2003 748,123,000 2004 842,486,000 2005 767,425,000 2006 1,261,883,000 2007 846,420,000 2008 787,625,000 2009 455,680,000 2010 486,200,000 2011 662,750,000 2012 199,347,000

See also

• Dei Gratia Regina, which appears abbreviated on the face of the coin

References

1. "Canada's last penny minted". CBC News.
2. . Government of Canada. Archived from the original on February 8, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
3. "Phasing out the penny in Canada". Retrieved June 26, 2019.
4. . Department of Finance, Government of Canada. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
5. "Phasing out the penny in Canada". CBC. Canadian Bankers Association.
6. "Faces of the Monarch on Coins". Royal Canadian Mint.
7. The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, W.K. Cross, p. 72, The Charlton Press, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-88968-297-6
8. . Royal Canadian Mint. Archived from the original on September 6, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
9. Royal Canadian Mint (2012). 2012 Annual Report – Breaking Tradition (PDF) (Report). p. 16-17. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
10. Mahoney, Jill (January 18, 2013). "$20 bill's maple leaf isn't Canadian, botanists say". The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
11. Coins of Canada, J.A. Haxby & R.C. Willey, Unitrade Press (2002), ISBN 1-894763-09-2
12. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
13. The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, W. K. Cross, p. 57, The Charlton Press, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-88968-297-6
14. "A national symbol–the 1-cent coin". Royal Canadian Mint. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
15. "1 cent". Royal Canadian Mint. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
16. Royal Canadian Mint Act R.S.C., 1985, c. R-9: Section 6 – "Non-circulation Coins" and "Circulation Coins"; Part 1 – "Non-circulation Coins"; Part 2 – "Circulation Coins"
17. Kitco – Spot Copper Historical Charts and Graphs – Copper charts – Industrial metals
18. . Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
19. "Penny should be scrapped: Senate panel". CBC News. December 14, 2010. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
20. (PDF). Desjardins Group. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
21. "Canada's penny withdrawal: All you need to know". CBC News. April 2, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
22. "Budget 2012: Chapter 5: Responsible Management to Return to Balanced Budgets". Government of Canada. March 29, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
23. Royal Canadian Mint (2012). 2012 Annual Report – Breaking Tradition (PDF) (Report). p. 37. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
24. . Canadian Press/Huffington Post Canada. May 4, 2012. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
25. Montgomery, Marc (May 3, 2019). "Canada History: May 4, 2012– the last penny drops". Radio Canada International. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
26. Size, John (May 4, 2012). "Last Canadian penny on its way to Ottawa currency museum". CTVNews.
27. "The penny's days are numbered". CBC. March 29, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
28. Pedwell, Terry (July 30, 2012). . The Vancouver Sun. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on August 3, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
29. "Canada Currency Act". Retrieved October 26, 2012.
30. "A penniless Canada: Mint begins years-long process of collecting and melting down 82-million kg in coins". The National Post. February 4, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
31. "Canadian penny honoured with Google Doodle". The Toronto Star. February 4, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
32. . Royal Canadian Mint. Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
33. "1/25 oz Fine Gold Coin – Farewell to the Penny (2012)". Royal Canadian Mint. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
34. "1/2 oz Fine Silver – Farewell to the Penny (2012)". Royal Canadian Mint. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
35. "5 oz Fine Silver Coin – Farewell to the Penny – Mintage: 1500 (2012)". Royal Canadian Mint. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
36. "J&M's Catalogue of Canadian Coins".
37. "1 cent coins". Royal Canadian Mint.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to One cent coins of Canada.

• Value of Canadian Pennies
• Coinage Designs of 1967
• All you need to know about Canada's penny withdrawal CBC News, March 30, 2012.