Canada's Endangered Penny

My 93-year-old mother is one of the few people I know who loves pennies. If she sees one on the ground, she always picks it up. Then she says -

Find a penny - pick it up,
And all that day you'll have good luck!

For most people, the penny isn't worth that much - so little, in fact, that the Canadian government has decided to do away with the coin.

I agree that a penny can't buy much these days, but I do have a problem with getting rid of a unit of monetary counting that we use. A penny is part of our monetary system, and not having it - in my opinion - is dishonest. The way some stores plan to eliminate this dishonesty is to "round down" - and already I've seen signs at cash registers announcing that that they will be following that policy. But an equal number will probably be "rounding up," I suspect. I mean, I don't expect to go to the postal counter and get two 1-cent stamps for nothing!

So as I grumble and complain (while at the same time bemoaning that my purse is so heavy because change weighs so much) - I wonder if I'll soon be converted into loving the absence of pennies. I mean, Britain used to have a "ha'penny" or half-penny. And they are now doing just fine without it!