A growing number of economists and bankers are urging the Canadian government to give up the penny, as the U.K. gave up the farthing and, later, the halfpenny.

Both Australia and New Zealand removed their one- and two-cent coins in the early 1990s. New Zealand went one step further in 2006 and demonetized the five-cent piece.

At the time of Vance's letter, the British farthing was legal tender up to one shilling — 12 pence or 1/20 of a pound. Legally, you could pass as many as 48 farthings, although Vance's letter suggests you were unlikely to succeed.

In Canada, the Currency Act says, "A payment in coins … is a legal tender for no more than … twenty-five cents if the denomination is one cent." No one is legally obligated to accept more than 25 pennies at a time.

In 1953, it was estimated that there were 600 million farthings in existence, or about 12 for every Briton at the time.

By comparison, the Desjardins Group estimates that there are 20 billion Canadian pennies — 600 for every one of us — in pockets, jars, fountains and piggy banks in 2007.

According to a Royal Canadian Mint survey released in October 2007, 63 per cent of small retailers said they were in favour of getting rid of the penny, citing efficiency as their prime motivation.

The Royal Canadian Mint produces about 816 million pennies per year. Desjardins argues that this huge production is needed because consumers receive pennies in change, but don't return them to circulation. They either hoard them or throw them away.

Desjardins suggests removing the penny and rounding cash transactions to the nearest five cents, a method called Swedish rounding.