A penny saved: Canadian coin to stick around until 2013

The Canadian Press July 30, 2012 2:10 PM

OTTAWA — The penny's days are still numbered, but the controversial Canadian coin is getting a last-minute reprieve before it's finally killed off as a circulated currency.   The penny, its death sentence originally pronounced in the last federal budget, will no longer be circulated in Canada as of Feb. 4, 2013, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Monday.  It has the holiday season — and the winter buying season's importance to Canadian retailers — to thank for the temporary stay of execution. The Royal Canadian Mint, which stopped producing the coins in May, was originally expected to start taking the penny out of circulation by this fall. But retailers and other small businesses complained that the transition to a penny-free marketplace would be too much of a burden right before the busy holiday season. "Setting a clear transition date will allow consumers, businesses, charities and financial institutions to plan accordingly in the lead-up to February," Flaherty said in a press release. "We want to thank all Canadians for sharing their views with us, especially as it relates to this  transition." After Feb. 4, cash transactions will have to be rounded to the nearest five cent increment, but electronic transactions will still be calculated down to the individual cent.