As of Thursday this past week, Canada has some brand new currency! No, we haven’t introduced $25 bills or $0.03 coins, but the Bank of Canada has released new $5 and $10 bills that are much like the $20 and $100 bills that were released by the Bank beginning in 2011.
These are the last of the bills to be replaced by the old paper money and just like their predecessors, they’re made out of polymer due to the fact that this will keep them in circulation longer and lessen the need to constantly replace them; which in turn, saves Canadians money in the long run.
Chris Hadfield initially unveiled what the new bills would look like while he was on board at the International Space Station. So it only seemed appropriate that he also appeared in Longueuil when the bills were introduced to the public. It’s also extremely appropriate given that the $5 bill has the Canadarm 2 and the Dextre on the back, honouring Canada’s contribution to space exploration.
The $10 bill has a picture of the ceremonial last spike of the CP Railway on it, recognizing another major form of Canadian transportation and also where a ceremonial picture was taken with the new bill.
Quebec and Vancouver are the first to receive the new bills, although the bills began going into circulation on Thursday.
So now it begs the question: Do you like the new bills, and the fact that you’ll have more of them in your wallet?
When the new $20 and $100 bills were released, there was major controversy surrounding mainly the pictures on the bills, and the fact that they were plastic; and therefore much more slippery than the old paper bills.
It’s hard to argue with the pictures on the new bills, as they all honour Canadian history. But people are still moaning about having to carry these around, as they bring up the “slippery” argument and the fact that they wrinkle and crease easier than the old dollar bills did.
However, is that really an issue? Does plastic really wrinkle easier than paper? And are they really so slippery that they’re actually an inconvenience? What do you think about the new bills – love ’em or hate ’em?
