Sharon Riecken’s days of counting pennies behind the till at Stedmans V&S in Davidson will soon be numbered.

DAVIDSON—It may be a near worthless form of currency, for after all, what does a penny buy these days?

For Sharon Riecken, there’s always the chance a penny might buy her some good fortune.

“Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day you’ll have good luck,” Riecken says. “I always pick one up and keep it.”

Riecken’s days of turning pennies into luck are numbered.

In the budget tabled March 29, the federal government announced it is doing away with the penny. The move is expected to save the government $11 million per year. According to the government it costs 1.6 cents to make every 1-cent coin.

This fall, the Royal Canadian Mint will stop distributing pennies to financial institutions. Pennies may still be used in cash transactions to make exact payment or change after the fall of 2012.

Where pennies are not available, then cash transactions should be rounded up or down to the nearest five-cent increment.

Non-cash payments such as cheques and debit and credit cards will still be settled to the nearest cent.