Monday

Canadian Copper Pennies - Copper Bullion

The end of circulation for the Canadian penny in Feb 2013 spelled the end of an era in coinage.  The transition went very smoothly, without public or business protest.  The government expects to save millions each year by no longer making pennies and businesses will save because they will no longer have to stick and count pennies.

Lots of expression will no longer make sense. No more "penny for your thoughts" or "saving your pennies".  Cash transactions are now rounded to the nearest nickel.  Electronic transactions continue to be processed to the penny.

But what of all those billions of pennies no longer needed?  All the pennies from 1997 to 2013 are made from a zinc or steel core covered in a little bit of copper.  They have no real value except rolled and returned to any bank.  If you have $25 work, skip rolling your pennies and get a free penny bag from the Royal Bank, Scotia Bank or maybe one of the other big banks (but not BMO as they do not carry the penny bags).  You can count the pennies, or just fill the bag to the $25 line and no one will bother to count.

Pennies up to 1996, however, are actually copper bullion.  They contain several cents worth of 98% pure copper.  You know how thieves will steel copper wire because it is valuable?  Well pennies are valuable too.  Much like junk silver coins are prized as bullion, the Canadian copper penny is also a form of bullion.  \

You might consider storing your copper pennies in the nice free penny bags from the Royal Bank too, just label them with Copper Penny Bullion - NOT FOR DEPOSIT so some well meaning family member does not cash them in for way less than their true intrinsic value.