Canadian Mint: Most Favour Getting Rid Of The Penny

**Cableguy** · 10-11-2007, 10:37 PM

It's not so much a case of a penny for your thoughts as it is a thought for your pennies. And it appears many agree that when it comes to the copper coin, most of us could live without it. A study by the Royal Canadian Mint shows the majority of people in this country would like to see the almost worthless entity eliminated.
It costs more to make the currency that it's actually worth and many Mint mentors believe most of us would be better off without all that change cluttering up our wallets and purses. It asked Canadians for their two cents on the issue and discovered that 42 per cent of consumers would like to get rid of the pocket change, while 63 per cent of retailers consider it a nuisance that would be better off banished.
Restaurants, grocery stores, entertainment venues and gas stations are especially in favour of sentencing the cent to a not-so early grave. And consumers also expressed their distaste, noting the penny takes up room in their wallets, can't buy them anything - and some worried they're full of germs.
Paula Virany collects the near-worthless wonders but believes if they're abandoned, she'll be able to make - yes, a pretty penny. "Pennies are the only thing left that are the real metal. They're really copper," she gushes. "My collection would be worth so much more, so I say do it."
But wouldn't dumping the disc mean that businesses could raise prices? Most speculate that retailers would round things off to the nearest nickel, but it wouldn't change all that much, the experience they found in Australia and New Zealand when they got rid of their small denomination.
"There aren't very many things that you can buy for a penny or even two cents or three cents any more so it's kind of a redundant thing any more," concedes Mary Ellen Lowry of Nabor's Paint. "Most people pay by debit card or Visa here anyways."
In the end, the federal government will get to decide the issue. The Mint isn't recommending that the penny be banished one way or the other, just taking the national temperature to see if it's a feasible idea - or not worth a red cent.
And that may be in the works. Even though the government has no current plans to end the penny's historic reign, a private member's bill is trying to put it out of our misery. It's the third time since 1993 that it's been introduced and it's failed all previous times.
But even if it succeeds, the battle over the minute money may not be over. There's an estimated 20-25 billion pennies in circulation - or about 600 for every man, woman and child in the country.

Penny Death Pros:

Consumers
-Wouldn't have to carry so much change
-Pennies useless/worthless
-Pennies an annoyance/inconvenience
-Costs more to make them than they're worth
-Pennies don't buy anything
-People discard them, don't want them
-People save them and don't return into circulation
-Prices rounded to exclude pennies
-Pennies dirty, smelly, germ ridden
-Pennies heavy as rolled coin when cashing in at the bank
Business
-Less change/coins to count, carry, handle
-Easier to count change/less counting
-Time savings
-Price rounded off/even
-Easier, less hassle
-Faster service/transactions
-More room in the till
-No need to roll coins
-Less trips to the bank

Penny Death Cons:

Consumers
-Prices will go up/things cost more
-Part of our heritage, sentimental
-Need pennies to make exact change
-Part of the currency/all coins of value
-Like the penny
-Good way to save
-No reason to discontinue
-Would lead to inflation
-Children like them/learn to count
-Penny is the base unit/not everything divisible by 5
Business
-Prices rounded up/down
-Prices would have to change
-Consumers pay/see higher prices
-How to handle GST/figure out tax
-Couldn't make proper change
-Customers want exact change
-Use pennies a lot, pennies needed for the business
-Have to reprogram cash drawer
-Possibly reduce margins/lose revenue
-Disgruntled customers

**finalday7** · 12-13-2007, 05:49 PM

I'm all for getting rid of the penny. I also hate the loonies and twonies. Having spent so much time in the u.s and having paper money, my pockets are so much lighter.