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 Replies: 15 / Views: 3,361 |
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Valued Member
Canada
250 Posts |
http://www.theprovince.com/Loonies+...5/story.html"The $1 coin will continue to be yellow and, so it can easily be identified by the visually impaired, it will remain 11-sided. However, it would have an electromagnetic signal to discourage the use of counterfeit coins, or "slugs," and a lasermark image will appear on the reverse. The $2 coin will be even higher-tech. It will continue to be two colours, but will be thinner to accommodate lettering along the edge of the coin. It will have an electromagnetic signal and a lasermark, as well as a virtual image on the reverse." Interesting article. Looks like they are going to High Tech our dollar coins in an effort to reduce counterfeiting. Maybe as early as late 2011. With this new tech I would anticipate a "learning phase" where lots of mistakes are made. Could be interesting.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
617 Posts |
Interesting article. I wonder if they will have "test" coins before they are introduced into circulation? If they do it would be something to keep an eye open for.
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Learning curve:
When they came out with the new $20 with all the wonderful new features, they figured they threw counterfeiters a curve.
Instead, they set a new record in that the first fakes were found in circulation less than 24 hours after the first release. Doesn't take too much to fake a bill that folks have only seen in black + white in the paper, or a quick flash in the TV news.
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Pillar of the Community
Germany
992 Posts |
Shouldn't they make the $2 coin thicker instead of thinner to allow lettering on the edge?  |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
As long as they're mining materials out of which they make those coins, then counterfeiters will have a tough time. You can buy paper at a store and hope it passes for fake, but with coins a slug is easier to notice. I've never even seen slugs for these denominations. I think the government is just running out of ways to profit. What bothers me is that the move is triggered by rising nickel prices. Instead of saying that our dollar will be worth its weight in "something" they say that it's a bad thing and now will have to cheapen our economic tools. I'm just saying that the faker things get the worse off we'll all be because we'll forget what money is and was. We might as well ship production to China the way we're going.
Edited by Libertad
02/20/2011 09:10 am
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1051 Posts |
Nickel isn't expensive. Dollars are just continually worth less and less as time goes by. Our current system of money has no basis in real value, it's just legal tender Monopoly money.
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Pillar of the Community
Germany
992 Posts |
I find this part remarkable:
"Eventually, the mint plans to recover the existing nickel alloy coins as part of its Alloy Recovery Program and remove them from circulation".
Does that mean they want to "collect" all "old" one dollar (1987-2011) and two dollar (1996-2011) coins?
Similar to collecting all the silver coins in 1967/68?
Edited by redlock
02/21/2011 07:44 am
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
693 Posts |
redlock - That's exactly what that means. The "alloy recovery program" was introduced in 2003. Our pure nickel fractional coins disappeared within a few years. There's not very many of them circulating anymore - mostly we see plated steel coins now.
Loonies and toonies will be harder to re-process though. Loonies are brass (or bronze) plated. Toonies have an aluminum-bronze alloy core.
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Valued Member
Canada
276 Posts |
lol cheapen our economic tools? I don't think so. We already function on fiat, and many transactions are electronic. Sure, coins will be worth even less, but the difference between my loonie being worth .04 cents in melt and .02 cents ... doesn't matter.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1581 Posts |
> Interesting article. I wonder if they will have "test" coins before they are introduced into circulation? If they do it would be something to keep an eye open for.
"It also plans to make samples of the new coins available to the industries most affected by the change six months before they are launched, so they can test and recalibrate equipment."
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
617 Posts |
oops I guess I should have read that a little more closely.
either way a test token would be nice to get a hold of. I've seen others but I don't have any myself.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
@romdime: That's true, our money is debased as it stands.
@1cent: Nickel is now over $13 a pound compared to $9 a few months back. I wonder why? (Really, I don't know.)
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1051 Posts |
I don't know why either, Libertad, other than possibly foreign industrial demand, an exodus from paper, or...? It's probably a multitude of factors. Keep in mind though, that at the last peak, pre-'82 nickels scraped just over the 25 cent melt value barrier. We're at just over half of that now, so I am sure nickel still has some legs.
A silver dollar is now worth 20 times face...is it impossible to believe that nickel could do the same at some point? Imagine each pre-'82 being worth a buck.
On a related note, I picked one out of the "take a penny/leave a penny" jar today. I gobble up every one I lay eyes on, even buying them from other people's change (if I know them...I don't offer to buy strangers change lol)
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Pillar of the Community
Germany
992 Posts |
Prices for metals are rising again because the world economy is growing again, especially in China and India, but here in Europe as well.
Look what's happening with prices for copper.
@Scissel: Thanks for the clarification.
Really wondering how long it will take until the "old" Loonies and Twoonies have been replaced.
Edited by redlock
02/22/2011 04:52 am
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Valued Member
Canada
53 Posts |
Guess I was not paying enough attention, thought I had heard that the $1 and $2 were already steel. I don't understand what it would mean for a coin to have an electromagnetic "signal", is that the same idea as an electromagnetic signature ("echo" response) like any metal object would have or is it something completely different? I hope it's not some RFID type nonsense.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
693 Posts |
Quote:
I don't understand what it would mean for a coin to have an electromagnetic "signal"... I take that to mean they will fiddle with the dimensions and plating specs so that the final product will be close match the current electromagnetic properties of our current coins. One problem with using steel-based coins is it's very easy for anyone to punch out coin-like steel slugs. The new coins will have to have a different EM signature than a plain slug. |
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Replies: 15 / Views: 3,361 |
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Posted 02/19/2011 11:19 pm
