Save the penny or leave the penny?

The Canadian penny? Could you blame a bus driver for refusing to allow you to put a couple hundred of them into the fare box?
A growing number of economists and bankers are urging the Canadian government to give up the penny, as the U.K. gave up the farthing and, later, the halfpenny.
Both Australia and New Zealand removed their one- and two-cent coins in the early 1990s. New Zealand went one step further in 2006 and demonetized the five-cent piece.
In Canada, the Currency Act says, "A payment in coins … is a legal tender for no more than … twenty-five cents if the denomination is one cent." No one is legally obligated to accept more than 25 pennies at a time.
The Royal Canadian Mint produces about 816 million pennies per year. It's estimated that there are 20 billion Canadian pennies — 600 for every one of us — in pockets, jars, fountains and piggy banks in 2007.
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Is it time to get rid of the penny?




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Is there any reason to keep the penny any more?

Leave it!
They're litter...

Meanwhile, take them to those coin deposit machines at the supermarket.

Muz

Oh no

I have hundreds of Canadian pennies stored away.... lotsa Loonies too.... and some old valuable Canadian coins which I'll never give back...

Maybe I better return the pennies....they are a bit of a nuisance lugging around...

Of course if they did get rid of the penny it would mean everything would be rounded up to the nearest nickle. What would that mean in provinces where we're already paying 13% (I believe) it will make a difference.

GST has accounted for 15% to 17% of total federal tax revenues each year since 1999. If you start rounding up GST amounts, how will that be affected?

I kinda like the pennies. They have to add up for the charities since most of us just dump them into the little bins.

I never did trust anyone who wouldn't stoop to pick up a penny. It's the foundation block of our currency and economy. I like the little buggers.