an ode to things gone by
This week the Canadian government took the penny out of circulation as it was costing too much to produce: 1.6 cents for every penny produced. So the Royal Canadian Mint is no longer making new one cent coins, and retailers are supposed to round the price of an item up or down to the nearest five cents to customers paying cash as pennies are no longer to be circulated at the retail level. They will still be accepted at banks as legal tender, but anyone with large stashes of the “coppers” should get the rolling tubes and take them to their financial institutions that way.
this is the last stash of pennies we will ever have
The end of an era. I’m in my 50’s, and I’m sure everyone my age or older has some pleasant memories of tossing a penny into a fountain for good luck. Or recalls the saying, “See a penny, pick it up and all the day you’ll have good luck.” Pennies have long been associated with good luck.
I’m reminded of other sayings that might bring a smile to your face: “pennies from heaven,” “a penny for your thoughts,” ” a penny saved is a penny earned.” Perhaps you have a favourite, or a penny saying that reminds you of someone special? It’s kind of sad that the penny is now a thing gone by, but we knew it’s time was coming as pennies have been practically worthless for quite sometime now.
I’ll bet most people just walk over them if they see a penny on the street today. They are unappreciated and now, of no value unless you find yourself in the possession of something special like a 1923 penny that might be worth as much as $340 if in mint condition. This site lists pennies of value in Canada.
Some charities have embraced the opportunity and are collecting pennies from donors who have amassed hoards of the one cent coins. This article highlights the charitable race to relieve you on your pennies. How long will it be before we even remember that there was ever a one cent coin?
Perhaps you couldn’t care less about the fate of the Canadian penny. Is there something else that has recently become obsolete that you miss dearly? 8-tracks, VHS and cassette machines, rotary dial phones, ringer washers. So many things have already become obsolete in my own 50+ years of life. I’m sure I’m missing some important ones. But for now, this is my salute to the penny, and I hope you will join me in reminiscing just a bit.
Then join us back here the week of February 18th, when we’ll take our next new look at life.
In Egypt the penny took out of circulation From Some years .
I remember when I was young the pennies was used and had a value
Egy king recently posted…The mystery of the spinning statuette
Denominations of that amount have been cut off from circulation in various other countries too. Shows so much about our economy. You can’t buy anything for a penny nowadays.
Oh, you’re a lady with a million smiles! I certainly love the fact that you could discuss the indispensable value of the almost dying Canadian pennies. Apart from that, you also blog about other things that I love too, like chocolate!
Yay, Stacey! I’m glad you enjoyed the post, and that you’re also a fan of the chocolate travel blog. It’s great having you visit both. Cheers!
WizardOfWords recently posted…an ode to things gone by
The Canadian penny. I had one which I picked up along the road about ten years ago when I visited Canada. It’s heads up, so I counted on good luck. I just feel sad that its reign of luck is about to end.
Kelly recently posted…New Years Eve Cruise in Sydney 2012 Harbour Fireworks Cruise!
Every time I read a news article about the U.S. penny being taken out of circulation I cringe for many of the reasons you do, Doreen. Primarily, nostalgia.
A dozen years ago, I wrote a personal essay on what the penny had meant to our generation, how it had played a part in buidling self-esteem (through allowances and tithing), and how it was one of the most “found” objects anywhere – at the bottom of purses, in the clothes dryer, on wet pavement and sidewalks, behind sofa cushions, etc.
You remind me to dig that essay out and dust it off with a few updates. Thank you!
Thanks for joining the discussion, Debra. I’m not a nostalgic person myself, but have really enjoyed the discussion that resulted from this post. We have such a great community on this blog. Glad to have you among us. đ
WizardOfWords recently posted…an ode to things gone by
I’m located in the Philippines and it’s crazy living here. Low wages, high cost of living. I’m just thankful my dad’s a well-off business man and can afford to pay for my needs. My job as a marketing associate pays peanuts! The gasoline here is 1.20USD and I drive a big car. It’s killing me! LOL.
Reading this reminded me of my grandmother and how she said that a centavo (currency in our country) could buy them a lot back in the day. Today I can barely go through a week without spending a thousand pesos. And sadly though our government hasn’t stopped the circulation of the small amounts, we’re not able to use it. Heck, you can’t even buy anything for less than a twenty. Talk about poor economy.
Sorry to hear about your difficult economy, Donna. Where are you located?
I certainly notice when prices go up here in Canada, but they’re usually quite modest. Our gasoline (petro) went us .05/litre this week and that seems like a lot. But I know our fuel is still a lot cheaper than many other countries. So I am grateful for that. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
WizardOfWords recently posted…an ode to things gone by
Well I think that is one nostalgic article, it’s like bidding farewell to the Canadian penny. Thank you for splashing color back to my otherwise dull, and boring day. Reading your articles, whatever the topic is all about, from chocolates, to chocolate hotels, to Canadian pennies; you’re doing everything great!
Joy recently posted…How to Use the Quick Access Toolbar in Microsoft Word 2013
Thanks, Joy!
WizardOfWords recently posted…an ode to things gone by
It’s weird to think how much the world has changed and I’m only 20! I still have an old pile of Disney VHS tapes somewhere in my basement. Its strange to think about in a couple years when I am the age of some of the other commenters on here I will be reminissing about Blue Ray, iPhones and debit cards. As for the penny, even though I rarely used them and usually just weighed my wallet down I am sad to see them go, but I see why they did it. RIP The Penny, VHS Tapes and Blackberrys.
Hi Marika and welcome to the blog!
Are you making a prediction that the Blackberry will soon be extinct like the others, or was that a typo?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. đ
WizardOfWords recently posted…an ode to things gone by
How things come to pass. We had a penny jar at home and I used to take a few when I go to school sometimes. I remember my grandmother taking them to store sometimes and I used to laugh when she pay with pennies đ
Salika Jay recently posted…Passport Safety Tips To Consider For Your Travels
Hi Salika and thanks for visiting this blog. We’re used to seeing you over on the travel blog!
Yes, it’s interesting how so many people have a sentimental attachment to pennies and it reminds them of something special in the their childhoods.
Thanks for sharing, and have a super day!
WizardOfWords recently posted…an ode to things gone by
We still have the penny over here in the uk. I would miss it if they decided to get rid of it as it something I have grown up with. đ
Gerald Smith recently posted…I need a personal trainer: 5 things to look for
Thanks for your comment, Gerald, and for visiting the blog. Nice to have so many folks from the UK onboard with us.
WizardOfWords recently posted…an ode to things gone by
They do the same in all countries Doreen.
Swedish banks are even keen on abolishing cash payments. Why? So that they can apply charges to all transactions.
Hopefully that will not happen since quite a few pensioners will have difficulties having to pay by card or using their mobile. Again, here companies and banks are charging customers for their services.
Catarina Alexon recently posted…Entrepreneurs â Do you master online storytelling?
Hi Catarina and thx for your comment. The interesting thing is that here in Canada, some companies used to give a cash discount, but I don’t believe that happens much anymore. And … I’ve actually been to some places that do not accept cash payments. So whether we like it or not, we have been coralled into paying with plastic (which personally, I do prefer) but I know what you mean about the surcharges. They’re here, too.
WizardOfWords recently posted…an ode to things gone by
Interesting share.
Some coins and currency I saw when I was a kid is no more in circulation now. If at all I come across those coins it reminds me of my childhood . Years down the line cards would replace currency completely and asking for change would be history.
It amazes me how times change. Soon we may get rid of proper money altogether and just work with cards. Or the stuff of science fiction, the microhip. Imagine a world where your every move is watched and accounted for based on the chip used to mark you as you. Wow, the places our minds can go…
Change is expected, except from vending machines.
Love the line about change, Jon. Thx for the comment.
Yes, I’ve thought about that microchip, and like you, I see benefits, but also eerie drawbacks and a gaping lack of privacy.
The times they are indeed a changing!
I don’t think I’ll miss pennies at all when they finally are taken out of circulation in the U. S. Your post makes me realize I’m not very nostalgic, but I do appreciate how objects mark the daily activities of our lives and how that daily flow will be changed in big and little ways when the object is gone. However, I just got the idea that pennies would work great as mosaic tiles, which I love to work with!
Jeri recently posted…Author Interview: C. L. Cappetta
Hi Jeri and thanks for your comment. No, I’m not very nostalgic either. But it’s fun listening to the stories from others. I’m really enjoying the comment thread.
And yes, taking things (like pennies) and using them in various art forms is really cool. I envy people who can do that.
Unfortunately the penny was dropped decades ago when we switched to decimal currency. A few years ago they dropped the 1 and 2 cent coins which didn’t make people happy at first but we got used to it. As a child I could buy lollies for 1 or 2 cents and seemed great value as we saved up the coins and came back with our assorted treats.
Hi Susan! Thx for joining the conversation. It’s nice that we have Canadians, Americans, Brits, and now an Aussie sharing their perspectives. That’s what I love about the blogosphere. We’re all one big happy family!
Find it very interesting how we all share the same memories and experiences we have had with the penny. As I read everyone’s article I was laughing at how I felt the same. Yes Debbie you need those pennies for tulips. I remember going to the corner store for bubble gum, swedish berries and chocolate (not at all like what we have now) but it was a treat. Would be pushing someone over if there was one on the ground!!! I don’t pick them up know but leave all I can for whatever group can use them.
Hi Pat: Great having you join the conversation. Yes, it’s been fun hearing everyone’s perspectives. I’m still hoping we get a couple of ‘younguns’ to join in, but so far no luck. It would be great to hear their thoughts as well.
I had heard about and I think it’s so sad that your penny is going away. I have such fond memories of going to the 5 & 10 to buy penny candy. I will still pick up a lost penny and make wish. I know that someday our penny will become obsolete but I hope not soon.
Susan Cooper recently posted…Easy Dark Chocolate Truffles: Recipe
Hi Susan: Yes, most often, I, too, will pick up a penny when I see it, as I need all the good luck I can get! Hoping we’ll both have the best of luck for 2013.
I have been putting pennies away for years into several piggy banks around the house. Guess I better round them up and cash them in! đ
satinka recently posted…Affirmations
So you’re saving those pennies for a rainy day, Esther! I bet you now have enough to pay for a trip!
A shame in a way, but I suppose if the face value is less than the cost of manufacture, then stopping production makes cents, sorry, makes sense!
Three more âpennyâ phrases: âten a pennyâ (very common and easy to get, or cheap), âthe penny has droppedâ (when someone has finally understood something that they had not understood before) and âin for a penny, in for a poundâ (to complete something whatever time, money, or effort is needed). Iâve no idea if theyâre only old UK penny references.
I still have lots of pennies from my last visit to Canada and, much as I look forward to another visit, I donât suppose it warrants the airfare to cash them in! I always intend to drop small change in airport charity boxes, but invariably forget in the general scrummage.
Roy Manterfield recently posted…How many aliens does it take to change a light bulb?
Hi Roy, and thanks for your comment. Great hearing your perspective.
The phrases you have cited do seem to be more UK-centric, as particularly the 1st and last are unfamiliar to me. “The penny has dropped” is a good one. I’ve heard that one used here in NA, although not for awhile. Cheers!
Wow, there is something sad about losing the penny. They have talked about getting rid of the US penny for some time, but we still have it. My husband and I have talked about collecting pennies, but we haven’t really thrown ourselves into the project. You have motivated me to do so. I have the feeling our pennies will be leaving soon too…
Laura Sherman recently posted…Are You Writing A Book?
Thanks for your comment, Laura. Yes, I always seem to see more pennies in circulation when I visit the US. They’ve been dribbling out of circulation for a long while in Canada, as nearly every business that deals in cash transactions has dishes, boxes, or cans on their counters to collect pennies for various causes. I guess the next target will be the nickel (.05 cent piece.)
I remember all those things you mentioned. Perhaps one day our penny will go away as well. It’s really annoying in my view. I also no longer pick them up if I see them while walking. Frankly, I rarely use physical money. I use my debit or credit card. I don’t have to be concerned about leaving tips since they are added to the receipt when you sign. The times they are a changing…. đ
Geek Girl recently posted…Senior Living Awards: Vote For Grandmother Diaries!
Thanks for your comment, Cheryl. Like you, I rarely use cash. Very rarely. In fact I almost always make sure my purchase is large enough so that I can use a credit card as I hate taking time to count out change, etc. The times are indeed changing. Faster than we realize.
Roy Yerex, a long-time reader of this blog has asked me to post this comment for him:
“The cost of producing the coin is irrelevant, insofar as its value is calculated. Each penny is used hundreds of thousands of times as change.
Which is an amethyst to government solely because we get use of something hundreds of thousands of times … for only 1.6 cents. At least that’s how bigroy sees it.”
Thanks for your comment, Roy! It’s nice to see you’re reading the blog even though you have difficulty posting a comment online. Cheers!
Hey I can remember when they got rid of the farthing!!! I was really v. young I might add. But 1/2p were in very general use when I was growing up. (a ha’penny as it was called – said “heypny”)
Although in some ways the penny is an annoyance, as you mentioned many charities have made a lot of money on collecting pennies. People are a little less inclined to give 5 p
Still you have to go with the flow and although it’s nice to be nostalgic about certain things,I think, like you, I try to be positive & always look forward.
Thank you for the post đ
A.K.Andrew recently posted…Can Your Computer Drain Your Creativity?
Thanks for sharing your reflections, A.K. Lovely to hear the perspective of those in other jurisdictions (such as the UK in your case.)
I’m going to nudge a couple of my friends who are in their 20’s to get that cross-generational take on things, as I’m curious about their perspective. Stay tuned!
WizardOfWords recently posted…an ode to things gone by
I too remember when a penny was worth something. We could buy a soft drink for seven cents if you drank it in the store, ten. cents if you took it home. If you returned the bottle you got three cents back. I don’t think many of us took those pennies home. For three cents you could get a pocketful of candy. I also remember those small “one square” chocolate bars they sold for 2 cents.
Growing up the very first bubble gum machines took pennies and how we’d crank and crank hoping to get the prize
We talk about things like penny arcades and raining “Pennies from Heaven.” Will future generations have a clue what we are talking about.
Thankls Doreen for leading me on this trip down memory lane.
And thank YOU, Harry, for contributing to the conversation. Always great to hear from you.
Yes, I remember bubble gums being a penny when I was a youngster. But not much else could be bought for a penny. They really have become pretty meaningless today. and yes, I’m curious as to how/whether the reference to the penny in popular culture will soon disappear …
WizardOfWords recently posted…an ode to things gone by
Hi Doreen
Just had to mention (again I am 63 so a few years older and maybe things changed by the time you came along!) that we could buy a number of candies for a penny. The one I remember the most was the red swedish berries. I do cringe a little now when I think of how hygenic is was(n’t) to reach into the container to take out one berry and touch or pick up and drop a number of others. I love reading everyone’s memories. Funny what stays in our minds as you mentioned.
Susan McNicoll recently posted…Chronic Pain
Doreen I am going to miss those pennies, as crazy as it sounds. We used to always throw a few into a pond and make a wish. I also use them for putting in a vase with tulips. They keep your tulips lasting longer, and it really does work. But for the last few years, if I have seen them on the street I would not bend over to pick one up. So I will have to keep some around for these purposes. If you want to keep your tulips stay alive longer, keep some pennies.
Thanks for that tip, Debbie! I never knew pennies would keep flowers alive longer. Does it work only for tulips or other fresh flowers as well.
I do know that putting a few pennies in a baggie filled with water seems to repel bees and wasps from your immediate area. We tried that on the deck last year and were pleased that it worked.
I wonder if others have uses for pennies that they’d like to share?
WizardOfWords recently posted…an ode to things gone by
Great post Doreen. I like you am in the 50+ group, and have seen such change. I recall putting a penny on a rail waiting for the train to crush it and then excitingly bringing it home to show my parents and Dad grounding me saying I could have derailed the train when realistically, he wanted me to stay away from such potential danger, I also recall putting a penny in those machines that would crush it and stamp it as a souvenir for the place I visited and at the Shopping Centres, where there were at times a fountain where I would toss a penny for a wish and seeing all those shiny coins at the bottom glistening in the light. We have seen so much change like the 10 digit calling, remember when we had party lines in small towns and phone numbers that you would call out starting with the alphabet, my number growing up was Hudson98410 which was 489-8410. We have seen the widely reported closing of Kelekis where likely not a Winnipegger has not at least eaten once as well as many other iconic eateries, the electric bus with those power lines running along Main Street and Portage Avenue where in the winter it was not unusual to see the driver get out and crank the rods atop the bus down, swing them back onto the line when it jumped off. Change is imminent, change is constant, and change can be exciting but memories last forever. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Thank YOU, Jeff, for sharing some memories with us. Yes, I remember those machines that crushed the pennies and stamped them. I guess those have disappeared. I haven’t looked lately!
And thanks for the reminder re old phone numbers. Ours was Globe 28442. Funny how our minds remember those things!
WizardOfWords recently posted…an ode to things gone by
I am a few years older than you and I do pass a penny on the street now and don’t pick it up! In fact I don’t pick up nickels anymore either. There is one song that will always make me smile because it was one of my father’s favourite Christmas songs. I never asked him why that I can recall (my suspicion is that it has comething to do with the many years he spent in England during World War II) but he will always be associated with it. The lines are “Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, please put a penny in the old man’s hat. If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do. If you hven’t got a ha’penny, then God bless you”. I believe there is one version that says the geese are getting fat but the one we had, by Harry Belafonte, has the words above. Of course I have other memories of dad (who died at 55, eight years younger than I am now) but for some reason that one has always really stayed with me.
Susan McNicoll recently posted…Chronic Pain
Thanks so much for sharing those thoughts, Susan. I remember the song you’ve quoted. It must have been in an old movie, as I have a visual memory associated with it. Maybe Mary Poppins? Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. It’s always great hearing from you.