Canadian Says Penny Doesn’t Make Sense : Currency: The professor calls the penny ‘a pain in the neck.’ He’s started a move to ban it.

Used to be a penny bought a peppermint stick. Or your sweetheart’s thoughts. A penny saved was a penny earned. At least a penny was worth bending over to pick up.

Today, economics professor John Palmer says the Canadian penny is just a pain in the neck.

“It’s a nuisance,” declared the University of Western Ontario professor behind a “ban the penny” movement.

“It wears out your pockets. We end up storing them in piggy banks and jars. It takes up a lot of time in checkout lines. They don’t give us any benefits as consumers. There is absolutely nothing good to say about the penny, except nostalgia. We should all keep some in our little jewelry boxes for nostalgia.”

Palmer began a low-key campaign to ban the penny with an article in an economic newsletter. Newspapers picked up the story and Palmer started getting attention, mostly positive.

“It’s a hot discussion and we are getting a fair number of calls,” said Mike Francis, spokesman for the Canadian mint.

A Canadian penny costs more to make than it is worth.

The Canadian cent, unlike its American counterpart, is 98% copper, 1.5% zinc and 0.5% tin. The American penny is more than 90% zinc and coated with copper.

Mint spokesman Francis said it costs the federal government between 1.25 and 2 cents to make a penny. The mint struck more than one billion pennies last year.

Palmer’s solution? Just get rid of them. Round off prices to the nearest nickel, or even the nearest dime.

One fear is that merchants will all round prices up rather than up or down to the nearest 20th of a dollar.