Canadians nickname their circulating $1 coin the loonie, and the circulating $2 coin the toonie. Since the queen appears on the obverse of the $2 coin with a bear on the reverse, the $2 coin has sometimes irreverently been referred to as the coin depicting the queen with the bear behind. What would Canada call a circulating $5 coin - a quintie? That's what the Halifax newspaper The Daily News suggested in a Nov. 8 article in which the newspaper (as did several other newspapers across Canada) announced it had recently learned of a 2005 Bank of Canada report in which the possibility of dumping the 1-cent coin while replacing the $5 bank note with a circulating coin was considered.
It now appears the study has been taken under consideration, but nothing will happen immediately. The Daily News quoted finance critic Tom Mulcair as asking, "The real question is going to become are people willing to carry around that much, worth that much."
In the Nov. 7 Edmonton Sun newspaper reporter Sheila Copps wryly commented, "Youngsters will now have to exchange piggy banks for elephant chambers," adding elsewhere in the article, "What a boon for chiropractors! It is bad enough that current currency weighs us down more and more every day. A $5 coin, added to the loonie and the toonie, will exacerbate rotator cuff tendonitis as women schlep through shopping malls in search of pre-Christmas bargains, clutching their hard-earned coins to their bosoms."
The Halifax newspaper was a little less dramatic, but asked the question: "Aren't coins a step back in money evolution? The loonie came to us in 1987, and the toonie in 1996. Toss in pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, and we might as well be carrying sacks and doling out doubloons at the Tim Hortons drive-thru."
The Halifax newspaper article continued, "Another coin is the last thing Canadians need. Five- and 10-dollar bills are pretty much the last money I carry with me in the 'cashless' society. For purchases over $20, I usually whip out the debit card. It's only smaller transactions that require cash, especially since many retailers won't accept debit for small purchases. That's where the 'cashless' society isn't so cashless."
At least at press time the Canadian finance department was saying it has no plans to issue a $5 coin to replace the $5 bank note at the moment. The question of the future of the 1-cent coin appears to have been lost in the shuffle and remained unaddressed.
Opponents to a $5 coin admit the coin would last longer in circulation than does a paper bank note, saving the government money. The loon dollar coin was reported to have saved the government $500 million in the first five years in which the coin circulated. The opponents, however, point out merchants and consumers don't really want a circulating $5 coin, and that a polymer or plastic bank notes as has been circulated successfully in Australia should be considered as an option to the paper $5 note instead. The Australia polymer or plastic $5 notes reportedly last for 40 months in circulation, while their paper counterparts lasted for six months before wearing out.
Opponents are also concerned that the introduction of a circulating $5 coin might encourage vendors to round up prices for items sold through vending machines, fueling inflation in the process.
The Daily News editorialized, "On behalf of the purse-carrying public, if the government wants to make changes to the Canadian currency, let's start with ditching the penny - not introducing a $5 coin. The technology is there. Let's not go backward."
http://www.worldcoinnews.net/Defaul...1783Articles
Posted 12/30/2007 12:44 am
