Posts Tagged ‘Royal Canadian Mint’
The Penny Drops
Over 150 years since it was introduced, in a dramatic move, the Canada Government has announced plans to discontinue its one-cent coin – known colloquially as the penny – after revealing it has become too expensive to produce and ‘ worthless’ as a currency.
The last Canadian Penny ever struck
“No currency as a currency”
Inflation has eroded the penny’s purchasing power by around 95% over the years, and the price of the copper has risen more than 330% since 2000 so each cent costs around 1.6 cents to produce. Scrapping the penny will save an estimated $11million Canadian dollars (£6.9 million) a year according to the Canadian Government.
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty explains, “The time has come to make the sensible decision to end production of the coin which is underused by Canadians, no longer vital to commerce and ultimately a burden on Canada’s balance sheet.”
Phasing out the penny
It’s estimated there are upwards of 20 billion pennies in circulation which they will remain legal tender but become largely redundant over time. Companies and retailers have already been told to begin rounding up or down to the nearest nickel (five cents).
55% of Canadians agree
A recent poll suggested over half of Canadian are in favour of ditching the penny. It’s hoped that phasing out the penny will not have any detrimental effect on inflation. Similar systems implemented in Australia and New Zealand have caused no major problems.
Pennies themselves will continue to hold their cash value, so Canadians can always trade them in at banks, who can then return them for recycling into their original metals.
The changing face of the coin world
The loss of the coin is a blow to world coin collectors everywhere, but that loss is part of what makes the world coin collecting so interesting – designs change, new coins come into existence and some coins will inevitably disappear.
Never forget. The $20 Silver ‘Tribute to the Penny’ Coin – now available from The Westminster Collection
To mark the end of an era, the Royal Canadian Mint has produced a range of commemoratives, which include the
Silver $20 ‘Tribute to the Penny’ and a Set of five Canadian one cent coins also in pure silver.
Click here for details about five British sought-after pennies…
Royal Canadian Mint revels in Diamond Jubilee successes
The Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who has been Canada’s Head of State since her accession in 1952, has proved to be a hugely popular collecting theme for the Royal Canadian Mint.
Within just a month of its release in early May, the latest coin in their exceptionally popular $20 for $20 silver series had completely sold out of its entire 250,000 worldwide edition limit. The other three coins in the series had also previously sold out in record time; they featured traditional aspects of Canadian culture such as the Maple Leaf and the Polar Bear.
The latest in the series of $20 for $20 coins also sold out in record time
Featuring Mary Gillick’s famous ‘young head’ portrait of the Queen on the obverse, the reverse features a new design depicting a contemporary portrait of Her Majesty. The portrait was exclusively commissioned for the 2012 Diamond Jubilee by Canadian artist Laurie McGaw.
Like the earlier coins of the series, this latest coin was struck in 7.96 grams of 99.999% fine silver and was available at its face value of CAN $20 to the North American market. The coin reached its mintage despite a limit of three coins per household.
This sell-out was closely followed by another success story for the Royal Canadian Mint – this time the ground-breaking 2012 Diamond Jubilee ‘High-Relief’ $50 Gold Proof Coin which also sold out literally weeks after its release.
The first ever ‘high relief’ 99.999% Gold Proof Coin also features the first ever left facing effigy of QEII
Issued with a worldwide mintage of just 50 pieces, this stunning double effigy piece was struck in 99.999% pure gold, weighed 33.17 grams and measured 30mm in diameter.
More significantly, it was the first 99.999% pure gold coin ever to be struck in ultra-high relief proof quality – a complex and time-consuming process involving striking the coin no less than four times and individual hand-polishing. In another numismatic first approved by Buckingham Palace, this technique was applied to a left facing effigy of Elizabeth II, again designed by Laurie McGaw.
“Striking the purest gold in the world at such a high relief presented a mix of challenges and advantages due to the softness, malleability, and flow rate of gold. The result is an image of extraordinary height and fluidity,” said a Royal Canadian Mint spokesperson.
Susanna Blunt designed the obverse which was also approved by the Queen.
View The Westminster Collection’s range of Diamond Jubilee coins.