Goodbye to the penny

It is bizarre that Canada is doing away with the penny -- or what my grandmother Stapledon used to call the "copper".  With her own way of speaking, she always used that word.  She also used to say something was "very dear" if it were expensive. 

She was old-world to the core.  Never without a hat and matching dress, Lillian (Lord) Stapledon was the matriarch of our clan.  Crippled with arthritis, she used a cane, but still looked stately.  One creature that always facinated me was her fox stole.  It was a real fox, with head, eyes, tail, claws and legs.  She wore it around her neck like something taxidermed.  It stared at me.  For some reason, of the six of us, I ended up being given her precious wedding ring, which I proudly wear every day.  Having misplaced it at the nursing home, she cried day and night until it was found.  I am also the wearer of my grandfather's bloodstone signet ring. 

But, back to the "copper".  There must be millions of dollars in coppers in piggy banks, pockets and kitchen drawers all over the country.  Get yours out before it's too late.