It's easy for Canada because Canadians are less ornery than Americans and will meekly do what the government says. Also the Queen is on every denomination of Canadian coinage so the loss of the penny means little. The Canadian twonie ($2.00 coin) has the Queen on the obverse and a polar bear on the reverse so you can get a cheap Canadian laugh by asking someone if he's ever seen the Queen with a bare behind and then showing him a twonie. The professor should be less concerned about the penny and devote a little thought to what 100 years of fiat money have done to the purchasing power of the dollar. Money is a medium of exchange and a store of value but the government doesn't take the store of value part seriously at all.

Let's say I make a cash purchase, and my total (with 6.25% sales tax) is $14.33 Without pennies, I would pay $14.35 The store pockets the 2 cents, because they cannot give me exact change. Without pennies, unless the owed amount is some multiple of 5 cents, ie $14.30, $14.35, $14.40, this will happen. I always carry an assortment of bills and coins, what's the problem? I say keep the penny! Our government blows billions on absurd things, all the time. If it costs 2.41 cents to make a penny, so what?

The statement, "Also the Queen is on every denomination of Canadian coinage so the loss of the penny means little," is odd. Are you implying that the loss of the American penny is more meaningful because Abraham Lincoln's likeness appears on the coin? Makes no cents to me. In addition, I have always found Canandians to be smarter than Americans. For example: 1. American high school graduates who are accepted to Canandian universities must spend an extra year to catch up to Canadian students. 2. Because of bilingual labeling all most all Canadians know how to say "peas and potatoes" in French. Few Americans do. 3. Most, if not all, Canadians accept the theory of evolution. So when Canadians eliminate the penny, I have to conclude that they are just doing the smart thing, as usual.

I had this discussion with a friend, just the other day. The cost alone is a solid reason for elimination of the penny. It does beg a question however, If we get rid of the penny, does the nickel become the problem the penny now represents? As the bottom of the cash food chain, it seems the problem will present itself again over time. But just because the last statement may come true does not mean we should ignore the problem in front of us. If we're that attached to the penny, we've all got shoeboxes and bags full of them. So we can visit them anytime we want.

I confess at the outset I see merit to the argument for eliminating the penny. Furthermore, I rarely use currency at all to make purchases: I use plastic most of the time. Still, I find myself just a bit wistful at the thought of the penny disappearing. The little coin has positive connotations for me dating all the way back to childhood.

If your total came to $14.32, you'd owe $14.30, and get to "pocket" the 2 cents. That should happen about half the time, so overall it should be a wash. // Without pennies, you'd owe two coins for $14.35: a quarter and a dime. Or you'd get back four coins: two quarters, a dime, and a nickle. With pennies, for $14.33 you'd owe five coins or would get back six. Handling coins that are worth so little is largely a waste of everyone's time.