Copper Penny

Canadian Royal Mint, 1936

Copper

Round object: 19.05 mm in diameter, 1.5 mm in depth

Found object, owned by my grandfather

Personal Collection

A 1936 penny is part of my grandfathers coin collection. He is the man who taught me the value of a coin, and what it means to hold the physical reward of hard work. While a penny may not seem substantial, historically pennies were saved, counted, polished and admired. Pennies would be added up to make small purchases. Pennies would bring a smile to a child’s face, as they could independently walk into a candy shop and lay all their hard earned coins onto the countertop at checkout. Overall, pennies would have the significance and symbolize hard work that was ‘paid off’.

As society evolved, the penny went through a transformation - in the design as well as in the value of the coin. It became cheaper to produce pennies with copper mixed with nickel, giving the coin a lighter feel and a more reflective appearance. Over time, the financial market changed. When compared to the cost of everyday goods, the penny was simply becoming an inconvenience. The decision was made to cease production of the penny because of the cost of producing it and a perceived lack of usefulness. Everyday economics became less about possessing a “hard earned coin” and more about convenience. When the penny was phased out and eventually eliminated, prices for goods were rounded to the nearest 5 or 10 cents. The hard earned penny no longer had relevance in a society that began to make more expensive purchases on a regular basis, and often required a faster more reliable and easier method of payment, whether it meant in tapping a card at checkout or making an online purchase.

Today, the penny holds a different purpose in society. Older pennies are collected. They mark a way of documenting our history over time, and they bring back memories for those who originally enjoyed carrying around these coins.. Each is a unique physical and symbolic object and in the context of the pandemic, it became impossible for me to photograph the original. The 1936 copper penny was a found item from my grandfather;s coin collection, specifically chosen because it holds the same year as his birth. This coin will one day be passed down to me and will be an additional coin to add to my own collection.

Robyn Rand