In Canada, a penny (minted 1858–2012) is a coin worth one cent, or of a dollar. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official national 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. In Canadian French, the penny is often known by the loanword cent; in contrast with the heteronymous word meaning "hundred" (), this keeps the English pronunciation . Slang terms include , , or (black penny), although common Quebec French usage is . Production of the penny ceased in May 2012, and the Royal Canadian Mint ceased distribution of them as of February 4, 2013. However, the coin remains legal tender. 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. Goods are still priced in one-cent increments, and non-cash transactions like credit cards are still paid to the exact cent. 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. A special reverse side, depicting a rock dove, was issued in 1967 as part of a centennial commemoration. 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. 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. 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. The 1997 copper-plated zinc coin proved difficult to plate in the twelve-sided shape, hence the mint reverted to a round shape. History The first Canadian cent was minted in 1858 and had a diameter of