$5 coin? Ban the penny first!
by MaxPower
In documents obtained by CanWest News Service, the federal government has studied the introduction of a new $5 coin to replace the bill. The Bank of Canada prepared an "optimal denomination structure" report in 2005 and as part of it, used two different theoretical financial models to analyze our coin and bank note system......concluded that a $5 coin would be needed between 2009 and 2020 "given the price level and other factors would be consistent with the historical shift from notes to coins at other denominations."
"We aren't far off [a $5 coin]," Francois Dupuis, vice-president and chief economist for economic studies with the Desjardins banking group, said in a recent interview. "Maybe in three to eight years. We will be talking a lot about this in the coming years, but I don't think we are there just yet."
Ok so we got the loonie in 1987, the toonie in 1996 and now the foonie (come on you know it'll be called that) sometime post 2009. Super. More coins. Now I kind of understand that - you know inflation, $5 isn't worth what it was in 1987, but by the same logic they should eliminate one coin on the bottom end every time they introduce a new coin. Ban the penny first, introduce a foonie, ban the nickel. That kind of thing.