Where have all the pennies gone?

ajaan

A couple questions for members living in Canada.



1. Now that the cent coin isn't made anymore, do you still find them in circulation?



2. I assume banks sold their cent coins back to the Canadian Mint or some other Government entity. What happens to the coins? Are they melted? Melting seems like a loss for the Gov't. Are they stored somewhere? Is there a huge vault in the Yukon somewhere with billions of cents stored there? Anyone know?

syl

The metallic value of each, older, non-plated cent is about 2 1/2 cents. There are 100's of tons of these things sitting in piggy banks, drawers and boxes. There's not enough value to sell them, since shipping costs are more than their worth. The banks take them at face and they are sent to the mint for melting.

1960NYGiants

Hi Don,



Syl (Bill) pretty much answered your questions. I just wanted to add:



The cents do not circulate much anymore. Stores round off purchases to the nearest 5c on cash transactions but will accept them if being paid in exact change. The banks automatically round off to the nearest 5c when cashing them in. This from personal experience during my last few visits.



I heard at one of the RCNA conventions that the Bank of Canada, in conjunction with local banks and Coinstar type machines, is rounding them up and returning them to RCM facilities for recycling of the metals. I also heard that this is being done in bulk containers at their sorting facilities and that the containers hold the equivalent of 8x 55 gallon drums.



In April of 2014, it was estimated that 4 billion cents had been returned to the melting pot out of an estimate of 31 billion. Source: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/penny-wise/

ajaan

Thanks guys. My brother asked me the questions yesterday and I know someone here would lnow the answers.

Icollecteverything

So if you bring three cents to a bank will they give you a nickel?

SaorAlba

I have been doing my part to remove them from circulation, I already have about 6-7 gallons of them.

YQQ

I have a 92 year old friend. His Mind is as sharp as a needle. Body is sadly slowly leaving him.
Herb has drawers full of Canadian cent rolls going back to the thirties and anything in between. he told me once where he got all these pennies.
when he went to his bank during younger times to cash his pay check or he said, to take most of your cash pay there, he always purchased pennies.....
He also has complete older Albums ( Several chiquita banana boxes of old complete 1 cent Whitmann albums and home made Albums) going back to 1920. All small cents.
And yes, he has all the key dates, one of each in each album. It was a challenge for him back then to complete each album. But he says, a lot easier then it would be today.
the most he ever paid for a 1925 cent was 6 cents at a dealer in Vancouver. He said that was highway robbery, but it was a MS grade coin.
Now He sells them on the bay in lots of anywhere from 4 to 8 and makes darn good money.
I offered to buy them all from him. (A few years ago he sold me all his large cents and silver.)
He looked at me and said: and I thought you were my friend.
If I sell you all my pennies, I have nothing to do and that will be the end of me.
there is no Ebay, exorbitant postage rates and feedbacks where I will be going.
He is right and it was thoughtless of me to even suggest it.
when his wife stopped knitting 2 years ago (physical issue) she passed within 5 weeks at age 91.
their daughter (age 2) said it was boredom that was the cause, Not old age!
It is a sad world.
just thought I share that penny story.

luckybucks

Here in Massachusetts, we have tons and tons of Canadian cents. I get as many as 20 (sometimes more) in a box.



I have been saving the 1970 and older ones, perhaps I should save all of them from now on.

SYRACUSIAN

So if you bring three cents to a bank will they give you a nickel?











He is right and it was thoughtless of me to even suggest it. when his wife stopped knitting 2 years ago (physical issue) she passed within 5 weeks at age 91. their daughter (age 2) said it was boredom that was the cause, Not old age! It is a sad world. just thought I share that penny story.



YQQ, your friend's daughter can't be 2 years old and make such perceptive comments.

YQQ

sorry everyone, daughter is 62....., obviously not 2.

nicholasz219

Ajaan, I sent you that note just now without having seen this post at all. Weird.