Pennies

Our modest penny has suffered decades of indignity.

First, rising inflation caused the penny’s value to tumble.

Then, Canada needed to lower material costs, so our 98% copper coins became copper-plated steel discs.

Larger, heavier and more valuable coins arrived in 1987 and 1996 (the loonie and toonie respectively). How could the lowly penny not get a complex?

Following what other countries did years ago, Canada minted its last one-cent coin on May 4^th at a facility in Winnipeg. The reason: compelling economics.

According to the federal government, each penny costs Canadian taxpayers too much to make and distribute. An estimated $11 million in annual wasted spending derives primarily from the fact that it takes 1.6 cents to bring each new penny into the world. (03/2012 news)

I get the financial rationale. I even know why many people dislike pennies. They weigh down purses without presenting major buying power. The older pennies (pre-1997) oxidize and discolour our hands. Being short just a penny or two can cause us to break a bill when we pay for purchases with cash, which leads to a handful of mixed coins.

Yes, the disadvantages list goes on, but for my part, I like pennies.

I’m not saying we should keep making them, but I’m glad I lived in a generation when I could collect shiny new pennies or their weathered, older cronies to stuff in my piggy-bank.

I also never feel guilty using a one-cent coin as a makeshift screwdriver. On several occasions, I’ve crammed a penny under a table leg to stop the surface from wobbling. Some people, and I'm not naming names for this federal offence, even place pennies on railroad tracks for the trains to stretch and thin out older pennies.

Bye, pennies. Thanks for everything, including all the good fortune we've experienced after picking up "lucky pennies" from sidewalks, parking lots and trails. 

      AWESOME!!!