Penny (Canadian coin)

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. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official term for the coin is the one-cent piece, 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 and Spanish milled dollars.

In Canadian French, the penny is often known by the loanword cent; in contrast with the heteronymous word meaning "hundred" (French: [sɑ̃] ^ⓘ), this keeps the English pronunciation [sɛnt] ^ⓘ. Slang terms include cenne, cenne noire, or sou noir (black penny), although common Quebec French usage is sou.

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]