Coin collector reflects on pennies, 10 years after they were discontinued

It's been a decade since the Royal Canadian Mint discontinued pennies, and one collector says their novelty value hasn't suddenly skyrocketed.

The Canadian penny was a part of the monetary system for more than 160 years before they stopped being made on Feb. 4, 2013.

"Canada started producing their own coinage starting in 1858," said Todd Sandham, owner of Colonial Acres Coins. "The first one was the penny because a penny went a long way.

"They were still making about 500 million pennies per year [in 2013]. It was costing them three cents or two and a half cents to make a penny, so it was just uneconomical to continue forward like that."

Collectors like Sandham say that, while some might be rare, the coin is a dime a dozen.

"If you bring in your jar of pennies and hope to sell it to us, you're going to get about a penny and a half for them," said Sandham.

Those who have pennies at home can bring them to a bank to redeem for cash.

"I work at one of our local banks," said Linda Morris. "My job would be to be able to ship it out. I'd have to roll everything then re-bag it. I'm happy it's gone."

A 2016 report from Desjardins predicted the nickel could eventually be taken out of circulation as well.

"The cost of living, now a nickel doesn't go as far as it used to," said Sandham. "Everybody's using more of their debit cards."