Penny (Canadian coin)

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Penny

Canada
Value	0.01 CAD
Mass	2.35 g
Diameter	19.05 mm
Thickness	1.45 mm
Edge	Smooth
Composition	94% steel 1.5% Ni 4.5% Cu plating
Years of minting	1858–2012
Catalog number	CC 20
Obverse
Design	Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada
Designer	Susanna Blunt
Design date	2003
Design discontinued	2013
Reverse
Design	Maple leaf branch
Designer	G.E. Kruger Gray
Design date	1937
Design discontinued	2013

In Canada, a penny (minted 1858–2012) is an out-of-production coin worth one cent, or 1⁄100 of a dollar. The Royal Canadian Mint refers to the coin as the "1-cent coin", but in practice the terms penny and cent predominate. Penny was likely readily adopted because the previous coinage in Canada (up to 1858) was the British monetary system, where Canada used British pounds, shillings, and pence as coinage alongside U.S. decimal coins. Like all Canadian coins, the obverse depicts the reigning Canadian monarch at the time of issue.

Production of the penny ceased in May 2012,^[1] and the Royal Canadian Mint ceased distribution of them as of February 4, 2013.^[2] However, the coin remains legal tender.^[3] Nevertheless, once distribution of the coin ceased, vendors were no longer expected to return pennies as change for cash purchases and were encouraged to round purchases to the nearest five cents.^[4] Goods can still be priced in one-cent increments, with non-cash transactions like credit cards being paid to the exact cent.^[5]