Fresh beef 4 12-5 centslb. For the same amount you could buy a pint of milk or a loaf of bread though most people were still baking their own. 1800s Canadian Bank Token Half Penny 1837 Penny Canadian History Token What could you buy for a penny at the turn of the century. . Many newspapers in 1917 cost. Hard bread 9-10 centslb. We called the Penny Candy Store in Sharon Massachusetts and the friendly young lady who answered the phone informed us that the cheapest piece of individual candy will cost you 15 cents. But although there were fewer things that cost one cent there were some that you could buy for two or three pennies. In some places the beer entitles the purchaser to free cheese and crackers. Or you could buy a copy of The Oxford Times newspaper. If you could find the will power to save up five pennies you could take your pick of a full-length Saturday matinee candy bars ice cream bars baseball car...