Penny Collecting
Today I’ve started coin collecting… sort of. See this year the Canadian Government has decided to stop making pennies. From what they’re saying, it’s because it actually costs more to make one penny then what it’s worth and a very low percentage of Canadians actually use the penny. May the 4th marks the day when the very last penny was pressed at the Canadian Mint and since then there all kinds of penny drives to collect as many as you can and donate them to a charitable cause.
I on the other hand have decided to try and collect one penny for each year it was pressed. I have a small jar in the basement that hasn’t been touched in about 10 years. So tonight I opened it up and started to see what I had and what I was missing. Apparently I stopped putting pennies in the jar around 2003 since that’s the more current one in there. Then they travel back in time each year until the year 1971. After that I have most of the 60’s and a few 50’s. The oldest one I have is 1952 (It has the King on it!), but I think I have one at work even older. It’s neat to think about the history and the travels that the oldest pennies have taken. Where did they start? What purchases where they used in. Everything has a history and I love to imagine them.
Not sure what I’ll do with them really. I just figured they’d be a cool thing to show any future grandchildren. Who knows… maybe they’ll be worth something more then a penny one day. Do you collect anything?
Play Asia
May 10th, 2012 at 11:46 pm
Ah, the march of currency. Back when I lived in New Zealand we saw the removal of 1c & 2c coins from circulation 20 years back, $1 and $2 coins to replace notes 11 years ago, and 5c coins removed 6 years ago, which initially caused a minor upset with rounding up or down to the nearest 10c, but got quickly forgotten.
My father at one point had a coin collection similar to what you’re doing, but with multiple coin denominations. I haven’t seen it in years, so don’t have any idea if he’s still collecting, but I do have a couple memories as a kid of going through pocket change every so often, looking to see if we had a certain year printed on them. More interesting than stamps at any rate, as they felt like they had a more tangible value to them. I really should ask what happened to said collection the next time we speak…
May 11th, 2012 at 1:15 am
I used to collect any silver coins I came across, I have a little wallet with a few of them. Working at BK I actually got a few and switched the silvers with current year dimes and quarters. (And had a coworker claim the *silver* coin must be a fake cuz it sounded funny. I happily changed it)
Actually wish I still could collect silver coins, mebbe swedish silver coins now that I’m here in sweden. hmmmm
May 11th, 2012 at 1:09 pm
There has always been talk of discontinuing the penny here in the states. This would be good. One less thing cluttering up my pockets.
I don’t really collect coins, but I do have some Iraqi dinaris from my time in the army. One has Saddam Hussein on it. Probably a collectors item now.
May 11th, 2012 at 5:02 pm
My dad and I have a collection of wheat pennies. and i have quite a few half dollars, silver dollars, and an assortment of other random coins. oh, and i keep every movie ticket that i get when i go to see a movie. other than that, i dont collect anything specific. i hope that america doesnt stop making pennies though, cause then i’ll be getting ripped off by 4 cents sometimes, and i would hate that.