No more pennies from heaven...

One-cent piece, 1858

Earlier this month, a Senate committee issued a report calling for the elimination of the one-cent coin from Canadian currency. The report cited many reasons, the most prevalent being that it costs 1.5 cents to make our smallest coin. It also doesn't buy what it once did. 

Australia and New Zealand have removed the coin from circulation and merchants and consumers in both countries have noticed little difference. Indeed, when I lived in New Zealand I hardly noticed when the prices of products were rounded up or down to the nearest number ending in 5 or 0. Whatever happens to the one-cent piece, it's had a good run.

First one-cent piece struck by Dominsion of Canada, 1876

In honour of our cute little penny, here's a brief history of how the one cent coin came to be in Canada: In 1853, parliament passed the Currency Act which stated that both British pounds, shillings, and pence AND dollars and cents (based on the American system) would be recognized as Canadian currency (Canada refers to the Province of Canada). This meant that coins from the US, Britain, and even Spain were circulating in Canada. The Act was revised in 1857 (I wonder why) and now required that all provincial financial accounts be kept in dollars and cents only. Along with the revision, in 1858 the first coins with 'Canada' on them were minted in silver, bronze, and copper, including the first one-cent piece.  After Confederation in 1867, the penny was used in the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, while Prince Edward Island and the colonies of British Columbia and Newfoundland continued to issue their own versions. It wasn't until 1876 when the Dominion of Canada issued its own one-cent coin. The Canadian penny has been in production for over 130 years now and whether or not it is removed from circulation, I'm sure most of us  have a piggy bank full of the copper-coloured coins that we should deposit at the bank!