Monday, February 4, 2013

Penny for your thoughts . . .


Actually – you had better make that a nickel.





I’m probably not the only Canadian, steeped in nostalgia, who isn’t ready to say goodbye to this shiny bit of copper.

I know it costs more to produce a penny than its actual worth and I understand it has become a time-consuming nuisance in retail. While we aren’t the first generation to say goodbye to a small piece of Canadian heritage, wonder where it will stop.



What other bits of our daily lives will soon become obsolete, redundant, and no longer useful in our fast-paced world? I was watching “Fringe” with my son, and one of the episodes mentioned the rarity of ball point pens in an alternate reality. With all our gadgets and gizmos, it doesn’t seem too far off the mark. How many times do you write yourself a note on your phone or send an email instead of snail-mail? Children are more adept at typing than penmanship. The new trend in schools is to implement technology – including each child having his own laptop. I do fear that one day, pens and pencils may also go the way of the penny.
Unless, of course, you’re an artist.



So, “in for a penny, in for a pound”, it’s time to say goodbye to an obsolete coin. 

5 comments:

  1. It's funny. I was more sad to see the $1 bill go away then I am to see the penny die. I just do not like pennies. I guess I've spent too many hours rolling them when I was in retail.
    There was a joke on the radio this morning saying that they had trademarked the phrase "nickel for your thoughts". Too bad they actually couldn't trademark the phrase...

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    1. One dollar bill, two dollar bill . . . someone suggested they replace the five dollar bill with a coin and use the maple leaves on the back of it. There's no way I'm carrying around five dollar coins! (Of course, there might come a day when I won't have a choice.)

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  2. I wasn't aware it'd been discontinued! I've been wondering for years when the U.S. would pull pennies from circulation. And I have a feeling that $5 coin would be as unpopular as our gold dollar coin.

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    1. The US still has them - but I can't imagine it will be long before they disappear there too. They're too expensive to make for their value.

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