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Ten Years After: The Legacy of the Penny

  • Jun 16, 2022
  • Learn
  • 3 minute read

When the late Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, activated the Winnipeg coining press that struck Canada’s last penny on May 4, 2012, a door seemed to permanently close on a piece of Mint history.  In fact, the ceremony that bid farewell to the penny ushered in a 10-year whirlwind of change that has given us a robust and resilient coin management system that is the envy of the world.

In total, 35 billion pennies were produced since we first opened our doors in 1908.  Side-by-side, all those coins could circle the earth 16 times. In 2012, following the announcement of the penny’s removal from circulation, an estimated 6 billion 1-cent coins were in circulation. As Canada’s mint, we do more than just make coins, we also manage the demand and distribution of coinage across the country. While we no longer had to produce the penny, our work was far from over.

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The last Canadian penny. Struck in Winnipeg on May 4, 2012.

When the late Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, activated the Winnipeg coining press that struck Canada’s last penny on May 4, 2012, a door seemed to permanently close on a piece of Mint history.  In fact, the ceremony that bid farewell to the penny ushered in a 10-year whirlwind of change that has given us a robust and resilient coin management system that is the envy of the world.

In total, 35 billion pennies were produced since we first opened our doors in 1908.  Side-by-side, all those coins could circle the earth 16 times. In 2012, following the announcement of the penny’s removal from circulation, an estimated 6 billion 1-cent coins were in circulation. As Canada’s mint, we do more than just make coins, we also manage the demand and distribution of coinage across the country. While we no longer had to produce the penny, our work was far from over.

Striking of the first coins of the Royal Canadian Mint on December 1, 1931.

Anthony Rotondo, Senior Manager, Canadian Circulation

“The fact that we had established processes, relationships with the FIs and ACCs along with a digital platform helped us ensure we had a successful penny removal campaign. We had to make modifications to the system to account for some new processes – but the overall success can be attributed to the fact we could repurpose our existing infrastructure to assist with the removal.”

Anthony Rotondo, Senior Manager, Canadian Circulation
Variation of 1-cent circulation coins with Mint mark and with "P"

Take a trip down memory lane (scroll image gallery using arrows)

The Legacy of the Penny
The Legacy of the Penny
The Legacy of the Penny
The Legacy of the Penny
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The Legacy of the Penny
The Legacy of the Penny
The Legacy of the Penny
The Legacy of the Penny
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