they started melting pennies in circulation in canada on february 4, 2013.
when did they start melting pennies in circulation in canada?
february 4, 2013
on march 29, 2012, the federal government announced in its budget 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. the final penny was minted at the rcm's winnipeg, manitoba plant on the morning of may 4, 2012. existing pennies will remain legal tender indefinitely; however, pennies were withdrawn from circulation on february 4, 2013. only pennies produced in 1982 or later are still legally "circulation coins". 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."
penny (canadian coin)
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. on december 14, 2010, the senate finance committee recommended 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 816million pennies per year, equal to 24 pennies per canadian. 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 1.1billion pennies, more than doubling the 2010 production number of 486.2million pennies. 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.
penny (canadian coin)