The Royal Canadian Mint announced record revenues of $3.2 billion in 2011 as it moved forward to modernize Canadian coinage. The announcement came just days after the Mint struck the last Canadian penny, another sign of the changing times of the industry.
Of the $3.2 billion in revenue, the Mint reported pre-tax profits of $43.8 million. 2011 was the fourth best year for net income for the Mint which operates as a corporation whose sole shareholder is the Government of Canada. All four of the Mint’s business lines were profitable in 2011, with its numismatics and collectibles business achieving its best results ever and bullion posting the highest sales of Silver Maple Leaf coins in the Mint’s history.
Collector coin revenues rose as the Canadian Mint realized a record thirty sell-outs. Among those were the immensely popular "20 for 20" pure silver commemorative coins which offered buyers the chance to purchase a pure silver coin at face value.
Canadian circulating coin production also increased to a total of 1.1 billion coins. That figure was matched by the production and shipping of coins and blanks for thirteen other countries.
Striking of Last Penny
On May 4, 2012, the Royal Canadian Mint struck the country’s last circulating penny at its high-speed manufacturing facility in Winnipeg.
The penny was eliminated from the Canadian currency set in the Economic Action Plan 2012 as a cost-saving measure meant to save the country an estimated $11 million annually.
"The Mint has proudly produced the penny to satisfy the needs of Canada’s trade and commerce for over one hundred years," said Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint.
"Although today marks the end of an era for this denomination, the Mint has a solid international reputation on which to build a future without the penny."
In recent years, the cost of producing each penny climbed to 1.6 cents, making their continued production economically unfeasible. Distribution of the penny will continue until fall 2012. The cent will remain as the smallest unit for pricing goods and service in Canada. However, cash transactions will either be rounded up or down to the nearest five cents to eliminate the need for the one-cent coin.
The last penny struck for Canadian circulation will be entrusted to the Currency Museum of the Bank of Canada in Ottawa.
About the Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown Corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada’s circulation coins. An ISO 9001-2008 certified company, the Mint is recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of specialized, high quality coinage products and related services on an international scale. For more information on the Mint, its products and services, visit www.mint.ca.
The US Mint should take a look at what the Canadian Mint is doing to stay profitable. The USM’s offerings have become boring and unimaginative with the only new idea, the reverse proof, coming out back in 2006. The CM is world class in innovation in design and catering to the collector where the USM plods along making coins that are collected because it’s the largest mint – not because the coins are anything special to behold.