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Former Canadian coin worth one cent From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Canada, a penny (minted 1858–2012) is an out-of-production coin worth one cent, or 1⁄100 of a dollar. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official 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.
Canada | |
Value | 0.01 CAD |
---|---|
Mass | 2.35 g |
Diameter | 19.05 mm |
Thickness | 1.45 mm |
Edge | Smooth |
Composition | |
Years of minting | 1858–2012 |
Catalog number | CC 20 |
Obverse | |
![]() | |
Design | Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada |
Designer | Susanna Blunt |
Design date | 2003 |
Design discontinued | 2013 |
Reverse | |
![]() | |
Design | Maple leaf branch |
Designer | G.E. Kruger Gray |
Design date | 1937 |
Design discontinued | 2013 |
In Canadian French, the penny is often known by the loanword cent; in contrast with the heteronymous word meaning "hundred" (French: [sɑ̃] ), this keeps the English pronunciation [sɛnt] . Slang terms include cenne, cenne noire, or sou noir (black penny), although common Quebec French usage is sou.
Production of the penny ceased in May 2012,[1] and the Royal Canadian Mint ceased distribution of them as of February 4, 2013.[2] However, the coin remains legal tender.[3] 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.[4] Goods can still be priced in one-cent increments, with non-cash transactions like credit cards being paid to the exact cent.[5]
The first pennies minted for what would later become the Canadian Confederation originated in legislation enacted in 1853. Per the Act 16 Vict. c. 158, the Province of Canada was to issue "dollars, cents, and mills" that would co-circulate with English shillings and pence.[6] After five years, an order to mint new coins came in 1858 as an effort to improve the Canadian monetary system. This was needed as by this time, the pounds, shillings, livres, and sous in circulation had become antiquated.[7] Pennies, or one-cent coins, were struck in bronze, had a diameter of 1 inch (25.4 mm) and weighed 1⁄100 pound (4.54 g) each.[6] Coinage for pennies was commenced so late in the year that the bulk of the large order for cents had to be completed in 1859.[7] The 10,000,000 coins ordered easily exceeded the demand and wants of the public that year as the population in the Province of Canada at the time was not even 2,000,000 people.[7]
This had a ripple effect, as the "ample supply" of newly issued coins were not withdrawn from circulation. The government of Canada had to intervene over the next 10 years by releasing them into circulation at a 20 percent discount.[7] Fresh production of new cents (with their weight increased to 1⁄5 ounce or 5.67 grams) was not required until 1876.[8] These pennies all have an "H" mintmark on them as they were made in Birmingham, England, by Ralph Heaton & Sons.[9][10] Heaton continued to mint pennies for Canada in 1881 and 1882 while providing new coin presses and other machinery to the Royal Mint in London.[9][10] From a business standpoint, this was a failure for Heaton as they "partly sabotaged" their own company by doing so.[10] Enlargements to the facilities at the Royal Mint were completed in 1883, which meant they could handle Canadian coin production.[7] The Royal Mint's deputy master made it "clearly known" to Canada's high commissioner in London that Canadian coinage would be handled by the Royal Mint.[10] Pennies dated 1884, and those dated 1886 to 1888, were all made in London for Canada.[9]
In 1890, the Royal Mint turned to Heaton again for coinage as there was possibly a "rush of business" that year.[7][10] By this time, the mint was operating under a new name as Ralph Heaton III turned his father's mint into a limited liability company in 1889. The former Heaton Mint was now referred to as "The Mint, Birmingham, Limited" aka Birmingham Mint.[10] When mintage for pennies returned to London in 1891, it's noted by the Canadian Bankers Association that some of those made that year were re-coined.[9] Canadian pennies continued to be minted in England until 1907 with the opening of the Ottawa Mint.[9][10] Concurrently, Queen Victoria died in 1901 and was succeeded by Edward VII which required a new obverse portrait for the penny. British medalist George William de Saulles was chosen for the job, and designed a right facing bust of the King with the words "Edwardus VII Dei gratia Rex Imperator" and "Canada". This portrait was used until Edward's death in 1910, and controversy arose the following year with a new design for George V.
King George V's portrait was designed by Australian sculptor and medalist Bertram Mackennal with the words "Georgius V Rex et Ind:Imp:"; however, this was criticized by the public as the decision to omit "Dei gratia" (by the grace of God) was called "godless" and "graceless".[11][12] As a result the words Dei gra were added into the design the following year, and large cents continued to be produced until 1920. Pennies were reduced to their modern size that year which brought them closer in size to the American penny.[13]
On May 11, 1920 a proclamation was issued by the Parliament of Canada (effective May 15th) regarding a "New Bronze Cent" which was to be 19.1 mm (3⁄4 in) wide with a weight of 50 grains (3.24 g).[14] These smaller pennies feature an unchanged obverse design with the effigy of George V looking left surrounded by abbreviations. The reverse was given a new design with "the words ONE CENT supported by a maple leaf on either side, and bearing the word CANADA above and the date of issue below."[14] During this transition period the old large cents were not withdrawn, and were allowed to wear down through circulation until their redemption.[15] Starting in 1922, a "period of economic malaise" that lasted throughout the mid-1920's led to low mintage amounts for pennies.[16] Mintage figures "marked a hesitant return" in 1926 when over two million pieces were struck that year.[16] When King George V died in January 1936 his son Edward VIII was expected to assume the throne, but due to personal issues he abdicated in December 1936.
Although his brother George VI assumed the throne on December 11, 1936 this had an effect on Canadian pennies as a new effigy was needed for coinage. Given that it was late in the year, the Royal Mint was unable to immediately make coins with a die depicting the new king with a 1937 date. It was instead decided by the mint to continue minting 1936 dated pennies with a dot added below the reverse date which signified that they were made in 1937.[16] According to mint records 678,823 of these coins were minted, however only five are known to have presently survived.[16] The new effigy of George VI was ready for use later in the year and was designed by Humphrey Paget. The king is shown on the obverse side facing left with the words "Georgius VI D:G:Rex Et Ind:Imp:".[17] The reverse was designed by George Kruger Gray to depict a maple twig with two leaves, the word "1 CENT" appears above them and "CANADA" with the date is shown below.[18] While pennies with their new design continued to be minted unabated throughout World War II, there was a change in composition. Starting on April 1, 1942 Canadian pennies had their copper content increased from 95.5 percent to 98 percent and their tin content lowered from 3 percent to 0.5 percent.[19]
When India declared independence in 1947, this affected the penny as the words Ind:Imp: (Emperor of India) had to be removed from the obverse of the coin. This change was per article 7.2 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom's Indian Independence Act 1947.[20] As the dies omitting the title were not immediately ready for use, a small maple leaf was added next to the 1947 dated coins on the reverse for pennies minted into 1948.[21] This wasn't the first major alteration as from a collector's standpoint "the mid-20th century brought a series of varieties to Canadian coins".[16] King George VI died in 1952, and a new obverse effigy featuring Queen Elizabeth II appeared in the following year.
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The first effigy of Queen Elizabeth II was designed by sculptor and medalist Mary Gillick, who chose to depict the queen at 27 years old facing right. As with the previous monarchs, her effigy is surrounded with Latin text which reads "Elizabeth II Dei Gratia Regina" (Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, the Queen).[22] For Canadian coinage, this marked the first time that master dies were made at the Royal Canadian Mint.[23] Canadian pennies dated 1953 to 1955 come in two major varieties "with and without a fold of fabric" (aka strap) on the new effigy.[24] The reason for this remains unclear as proposed theories include overly polished dies, to the relief of the effigy being too high to strike properly. In 1956, the "Master of the Royal Canadian Mint" noted that 898 pounds of worn bronze coins and 545 pounds of World War II era tombac nickels were converted for use in one-cent coinage.[25] High speed presses were installed at the mint in the early 1960s which meant that more Canadian pennies were being made at rates that exceeded 70% when compared to prior years.[26]
In 1964, Queen Elizabeth approved a second effigy of herself on Canadian coinage which was made by British artist and sculptor Arnold Machin.[27] This second bust features the Queen facing right while wearing a tiara surrounded by Latin text where "Dei Gratia" is abbreviated again to read "D.G.".[22] When these new pennies debuted in 1965, the denticles on both sides of the coin were replaced by beads which were affected by striking difficulties.[16][28] Canada celebrated their centennial in 1967 by having a special design appear on the reverse side of each circulating denomination. For the penny, artist Alex Colville designed a depiction featuring a rock dove in flight with a dual date of "1867-1967".[13][29][30] The reverse design reverted back to George Kruger Gray's maple leaf in 1968, and in 1978 slight changes were made to the composition and thickness which gave the pennies a "thin planchet".[31][32][33] Further changes were made to the penny in 1980 which included a slight size reduction of .05 mm, and a weight change from 3.24 g to 2.8 g.[32] These specifications only lasted another year before the penny was changed again in both shape and weight.[34]
Canadian pennies minted from 1982 to 1996 have a twelve-sided edge to them which was put in place to help assist the visually impared.[34][35] While their composition didn't change, these new pennies were also lighter as their weight was reduced from 2.8 to 2.5 g.[32] This did not help production costs as the Royal Canadian Mint noted in 1984 that a penny cost more than its face value to produce.[36] Starting in 1990, a third effigy of the queen was used for Canadian pennies which was designed by Hungarian-Canadian sculptorDora de Pedery-Hunt. This third design kept the same previously used Latin script, and depicts Elizabeth II when she was 64 years old.[22] Pennies with this design were used throughout the 1990s, and include a dual dated "1867-1992" coin which marked Canada's 125th anniversary.[22][31]
The 1997 copper-plated zinc coin proved difficult to plate in the twelve-sided shape, hence the mint reverted to a round shape.[37]
Between 2000 and the end of the penny's distribution in 2012, the 1-cent coin was produced using either the copper-plated steel or copper-plated zinc compositions.[38]
Based on technical specifications provided by the Mint Act, only pennies produced from 1982 to their discontinuation in 2013 are still legally "circulation coins".[39]
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.[40]
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.[41] On December 14, 2010, the Senate finance committee recommended the penny be removed from circulation,[42] 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 816 million pennies per year, equal to 24 pennies per Canadian.[43] 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 1.1 billion pennies, more than doubling the 2010 production number of 486.2 million pennies.[44] 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.[42]
On March 29, 2012, the federal government announced in its budget[45] that it would withdraw the penny from circulation in the fourth quarter of 2012.[42] The budget announcement eliminating the penny cited the cost of producing it at 1.6 cents.[45][46] The final penny was minted at the RCM's Winnipeg, Manitoba, plant on the morning of May 4, 2012,[46] and was later entrusted to the Bank of Canada Museum in Ottawa.[47][48][49] Existing pennies will remain legal tender indefinitely;[50] however, pennies were withdrawn from circulation on February 4, 2013.[46][51] 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."[52]
On February 4, 2013, the mint began melting down the estimated 35 billion pennies that were in circulation.[53] On the same day, Google celebrated the beginning of the end for the Canadian penny with a Google Doodle.[54]
Cash transactions are now rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 cents.[55] The rounding is not done on individual items but on the total bill of sale, with totals being rounded to the nearest multiple of 5, i.e., totals ending in 1 or 2 round down to 0, totals ending in 3, 4, 6, or 7 round to 5, and totals ending in 8 or 9 round up to 10.
To honour the penny, the Royal Canadian Mint released several silver and gold coins and collectibles on their website,[46] including a miniature gold coin,[56] a gold-plated silver coin,[57] a five-ounce silver coin,[58] and a five-coin set of silver coins.[citation needed]
Years | Mass | Diameter/shape | Composition[32] |
---|---|---|---|
1858–1859 | 4.54 g (70 gr) | 25.4 mm (1 in), round | 95% copper, 4% tin, 1% zinc (bronze) |
1876–1920 | 5.67 g (87+1⁄2 gr) | 25.4 mm (1 in), round | 95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc |
1920–1941 | 3.24 g (50 gr) | 19.1 mm (3⁄4 in), round | 95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc |
1942–1977 | 3.24 g (50 gr) | 19.1 mm (3⁄4 in), round | 98% copper, 0.5% tin, 1.5% zinc |
1978–1979 | 3.24 g (50 gr) | 19.1 mm (3⁄4 in), round | 98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc |
1980–1981 | 2.8 g | 19 mm (3⁄4 in), round | 98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc |
1982–1996 | 2.5 g | 19.1 mm (3⁄4 in), 12-sided | 98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc |
1997–1999 | 2.25 g | 19.1 mm (3⁄4 in), round | 98.4% zinc, 1.6% copper plating |
2000–2012 | 2.35 g | 19.1 mm (3⁄4 in), round | 94% steel, 1.5% nickel, 4.5% copper plating |
Year | Mintage[59] |
---|---|
1858 | 421,000[60] |
1859 | 9,579,000[60] |
1876 H | 4,000,000[61] |
1881 H | 2,000,000[61] |
1882 H | 4,000,000[61] |
1884 | 2,500,000[61] |
1886 | 1,500,000[61] |
1887 | 1,500,000[61] |
1888 | 4,000,000[61] |
1890 H | 1,000,000[61] |
1891 | 1,452,000[61] |
1892 | 1,200,000[61] |
1893 | 2,000,000[61] |
1894 | 1,000,000[61] |
1895 | 1,200,000[61] |
1896 | 2,000,000[61] |
1897 | 1,500,000[61] |
1898 H | 1,000,000[61] |
1899 | 2,400,000[61] |
1900 | 1,000,000[61] |
1900 H | 2,600,000[61] |
1901 Victoria | 4,100,000[61] |
1902 Edward VII | 3,000,000[62] |
1903 | 4,000,000[62] |
1904 | 2,500,000[62] |
1905 | 2,000,000[62] |
1906 | 4,100,000[62] |
1907 | 2,400,000[62] |
1907 H | 800,000[62] |
1908 | 2,401,506[62] |
1909 | 3,973,339[62] |
1910 | 5,146,487[62] |
Year | Mintage[63][64][65] |
---|---|
1911 No "Dei gratia"[lower-alpha 1] | 4,663,486[66] |
1912 With "Dei gra" | 5,107,642[67] |
1913 | 5,735,405[67] |
1914 | 3,405,958[67] |
1915 | 4,932,134[67] |
1916 | 11,022,367[67] |
1917 | 11,899,254[67] |
1918 | 12,970,798[67] |
1919 | 11,279,634[67] |
1920 Large | 6,762,247[67] |
1920 Small | 15,483,923 |
1921 | 7,601,627 |
1922 | 1,243,635 |
1923 | 1,019,002 |
1924 | 1,593,195 |
1925 | 1,000,622 |
1926 | 2,143,372 |
1927 | 3,553,928 |
1928 | 9,144,860 |
1929 | 12,159,840 |
1930 | 2,538,613 |
1931 | 3,842,776 |
1932 | 21,316,190 |
1933 | 12,079,310 |
1934 | 7,042,358 |
1935 | 7,526,400 |
1936 George V[lower-alpha 2] | 8,768,769 |
1937 George VI | 10,040,231 |
1938 | 18,365,608 |
1939 | 21,600,319 |
1940 | 85,740,532 |
1941 | 56,336,011 |
1942 | 76,113,708 |
1943 | 89,111,969 |
1944 | 44,131,216 |
1945 | 77,268,591 |
1946 | 56,662,071 |
1947 | 31,093,901 |
1947 Maple Leaf | 47,855,448 |
1948 | 25,767,779 |
1949 | 33,128,933 |
1950 | 60,444,992 |
1951 | 80,430,379 |
1952 | 67,631,736 |
Year | Mintage |
---|---|
1953 No strap | 67,806,016[68] |
1953 Strap | |
1954[lower-alpha 3] | 22,181,760[68] |
1955 Strap | 56,403,193[68] |
1955 No strap | |
1956 | 78,685,535[68] |
1957 | 100,601,792[68] |
1958 | 59,385,679[68] |
1959 | 83,615,343[68] |
1960 | 75,772,775[68] |
1961 | 139,598,404[68] |
1962 | 227,244,069[68] |
1963 | 279,076,334[68] |
1964 | 484,655,322[68] |
1965 Large beads | 304,441,082[69] |
1965 Small beads | |
1966 | 184,151,087[69] |
1967 Centennial | 345,140,645[70] |
1968 | 329,695,772[69] |
1969 | 335,240,929[69] |
1970 | 311,145,010[69] |
1971 | 298,228,936[69] |
1972 | 451,304,591[69] |
1973 | 457,059,852[69] |
1974 | 692,058,489[69] |
1975 | 642,318,000[69] |
1976 | 701,122,890[69] |
1977 | 453,762,670[69] |
1978 | 911,170,647[33] |
1979 | 754,394,064[33] |
1980 | 912,052,318[71] |
1981 Round | 1,209,468,500[71] |
1982 12 sided | 911,001,000[72] |
1983 | 975,510,000[72] |
1984 | 838,225,000[72] |
1985 | 771,772,500[72] |
1986 | 740,335,000[72] |
1987 | 774,549,000[72] |
1988 | 482,676,752[72] |
1989 | 1,077,347,200[72] |
1990 | 218,035,000[73] |
1991 | 831,001,000[73] |
1992 | 673,512,000[74] |
1993 | 752,034,000[73] |
1994 | 639,516,000[73] |
1995 | 624,983,000[73] |
1996 12 sided | 445,746,000[73] |
1997 Round | 549,868,000[75] |
1998 | 999,578,000[75] |
1999 | 1,089,625,000[75] |
2000 | 771,908,206[75] |
2001 | 919,358,000[75] |
2002 | 716,366,000[76] |
2002 P | 114,212,000[76] |
2003 | 92,219,775[75] |
2003 P | 235,936,799[75] |
2003 Uncrowned[lower-alpha 4] | 56,887,144[77] |
2003 P Uncrowned | 591,257,000[78] |
2004 | 653,317,000[77] |
2004 P | 134,906,000[78] |
2005 | 759,658,000[77] |
2005 P | 30,525,000[78] |
2006 Plain[lower-alpha 5] | 886,275,000[77] |
2006 RCM[lower-alpha 5] | |
2006 P[lower-alpha 5] | 137,733,000[78] |
2007 M[lower-alpha 6] | 938,270,000[78] |
2007 NM[lower-alpha 6] | 9,625,000[80] |
2008[lower-alpha 7] | 787,625,000[78] |
2009 M | 419,105,000[82] |
2009 NM | 36,575,000[82] |
2010[lower-alpha 8] | 486,200,000 |
2011 | 662,750,000 |
2012 | 199,347,000 |
Date | Mintage | Reason |
---|---|---|
1998 |
25,000 |
90th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mint |
2003 |
21,357 |
Elizabeth II (Golden Jubilee) |
2010 |
4,996 |
75th Anniversary of Canada's Voyageur Silver Dollar |
2011 |
6,000 |
100th anniversary of George V on Canadian coins |
2017 |
5,500 |
150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada (the forgotten 1927 designs) |
2017 |
8,017 |
150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada (Centennial Rock Dove; 2017 version) |
The value of any given coin is determined by survivability rate and condition as collectors in general prefer uncleaned appealing coins. According to the Canadian Coin Digest, mintages for Canadian coinage in general "aren't" always reliable in determining rarity.[10] One outlier is the rare 1936 dot cent of which only four minted specimens of this coin are known. These coins were produced with the dot to show they were made in 1937 while the mint was waiting for new dies due to a delay caused by the abdication of King Edward VIII and the need to create new dies for his successor, George VI. The last one sold at Heritage Auctions in January 2010 for over US$400,000 before taxes.[30]