<Ul> <Li> Although the RCM states 2000 as the year of transition from zinc to steel, zinc - core cents were issued in every year of the 2000s, except 2008 . Steel cents dated before 2002 are test pieces for calibrating coin - operated machines, and are very rare in circulation . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Although the RCM states 2000 as the year of transition from zinc to steel, zinc - core cents were issued in every year of the 2000s, except 2008 . Steel cents dated before 2002 are test pieces for calibrating coin - operated machines, and are very rare in circulation . </Li> <P> From May 2006 to October 2008, all circulation Canadian pennies from 1942 to 1996 had a melt value of over $0.02 CAD based on the increasing spot price of copper in the commodity markets . The break - even price for a 2.8 g solid copper penny is $1.61 USD / lb, with prices during this period reaching as high as $4 USD / lb . </P> <P> There had been repeated debate about ceasing production of the penny because of the cost of producing it and a perceived lack of usefulness . In mid-2010 the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance began a study on the future of the one - cent coin . On December 14, 2010, the Senate finance committee recommended the penny be removed from circulation, arguing that a century of inflation had eroded the value and usefulness of the one - cent piece . A 2007 survey indicated that 37 percent of Canadians used pennies, but the government continued to produce about 816 million pennies per year, equal to 24 pennies per Canadian . The Royal Canadian Mint had been forced to produce large numbers of pennies because they disappeared from circulation, as people hoarded these coins or simply avoided using them . In 2011 the Royal Canadian Mint had minted 1.1 billion pennies, more than doubling the 2010 production number of 486.2 million pennies . In late 2010, finance committee members of the Canadian Senate estimated that the average Canadian had as many as 600 pennies hoarded away, taken out of circulation . </P>

How much is a canadian penny worth in copper
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