Talk:Canadian dollar

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Contents

[edit] Graph has Wrong Units

The graph with the y-axis "$CAN/$US" has the wrong units as labels. It shouldn't be $0.90, $1, $1.10, etc. -- it should be .9, 1, 1.1, etc.

[edit] Canadian Dollar Value

There's been a series of edits to the recent peaks the dollar has hit. How frequently do we want that info changed? Krupo 17:14, Oct 24, 2004 (UTC)

It seems to be the one sentence, "It has since continued its rise, closing at $0.8029 US on October 20, 2004"; the value and date can just be updated on a regular basis as this trend goes on, IMO. If it peaks or makes other noteworthy activity, that can be noted at that time. Radagast 00:43, Oct 25, 2004 (UTC)

Are the new fives and new tens smaller than the older bills? And aren't they more similar in colour and design to each other than the older bills were? Does anyone else think that this is a trend toward a more American style of currency? Tubby

Huh? The new $5 and $10 are the same colours as the previous $5 and $10 - blue and purple - and the same size (152.4 x 69.85 mm). The Bank of Canada website on the new series indicates that this will be the case for the rest of the new notes, too. To my eye they're no more similar in design to each other than the previous $5 and $10 (or any two American notes).
If they did something obvious like make all the notes red, then I'd agree with you; but I don't think it's likely, since visually impaired people would pitch all holy hell, and well they should. - Montréalais

Aren't some commemorative coins struck at the Ottawa mint, rather than at Winnipeg? Arwel 17:04 Mar 7, 2003 (UTC)

I think the coloured rows are garish and hard to read. They strain my eyes. Should they be made plain? Maybe pictures of the notes and coins should be uploaded. - RadRafe

I found the colored rows almost impossible to read. Pleaae someone make it go away. Please. Rmhermen 22:13 20 May 2003 (UTC)
I second your desire for banknote scans. We do this for Euro_banknotes and United States dollar among others. -- Finlay McWalter 12:36, 5 Nov 2003 (UTC)
Suggestions for bill colors:
2 dollars 5 dollars 10 dollars 20 dollars 50 dollars
100 dollars 1000 dollars

I also think that scans would be not a bad idea. - sik0fewl 12:44, 21 Feb 2004 (UTC)

There are very specific laws in the Criminal Code of Canada about how the image of Canadian banknotes may be used. They may be incompatible with useful display in an encyclopedia. - Montréalais 17:04, 5 Dec 2003 (UTC)

True, but Wiki has to follow U.S. laws, no? ;) --Krupo 02:11, 4 May 2004 (UTC)

"You can pop the centre out of a toonie. This is (or was) in fact true. Many toonies in the first shipment of the coins were defective, and could separate if struck hard. This problem was quickly corrected. "

one would assume you could still break them if you tried hard enough Pellaken 05:52, 5 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Each of these represents the flag that Canada was using at the time of the Prime Minister depicted on the bill.

This is wrong. The $2 and $1000, after all, depicted the Queen, not a prime minister; the $10 featured Macdonald, who became prime minister 25 years before the Red Ensign was approved for use on the Merchant Marine and more than 50 years before it was used on goverrnment buildings; and the Union Jack is on the $100 with Robert Borden, who came after Laurier who appears with the Red Ensign. Montrealais

If they aren't yet, the 2001-series bills will soon be more common than the old ones; should this be reflected on the table? We could put the newer descriptions above the old, or just wait for the new $50 to become prevalent and take the old ones out entirely.

Or, we make Canadian banknotes and take them all off here entirely. Any thoughts?

Radagast 19:09, Oct 10, 2004 (UTC)

In Canada, it is common to find American 1¢, 5¢, and 10¢ coins in circulation (just like there are Australian 5, 10, 20, and 50 cent coins in New Zealand and vice versa;) this interchangeability is considered somewhat unique in the western world

Clearly it's not considered unique, because of the Australasian example! 81.156.161.238 07:31, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Red Poppy Twenty Five Cent Piece

Is this is general circulation still? I'm going to Niagara in a few days, and don't wanna waste a trip to the bank if I'll probably get one in my change. -GregNorc (talk)

Absolutely. It is the size, shape and weight of a standard quarter; it is legal currency like any other commemorative quarter. The status of the dye on the particular coin makes no difference to its value. Radagast 14:00, Feb 14, 2005 (UTC)
I see. In the USA, they have made a few coins similar to that, including a "colour"ized one dollar coin. In each case they never made in huge numbers, just available from the mint for collector purchase. They didn't make EVERY one dollar coin in circulation colorized. Thanks for the info. -GregNorc (talk)
Yes, i collected mine from the change from a vending machine at my school. Also, I found one on the floor. The best one to get is the veteran's one. -- cncxbox

[edit] 50¢ piece

The 50¢ coin is no longer very common in Canada. I believe it was taken out of circulation with the introduction of the loonie. I think it should be removed from the table of coins. --Madison Gray 03:12, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I don't believe this is correct. I think there was a promotion within the last year or two where a lot were given out, and while they are uncommon, I don't believe they've been taken out of circulation. - Cafemusique 12:36, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)
"In recent decades, the 50-cent circulation coin has not been widely used in business transactions, and most of the annual mintage is purchased by coin collectors." Presumably the rest were in general circulation. Quote taken from the the mint's web page on circulation coins. RCM - Circulation Coins - Cafemusique 12:45, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)
Trust me, they were still in circulation as of 2003. I used to routinely go to banks to pick up rolls and boxes of 50¢ pieces and silver dollars (which I would then use as pocket change). If the coins had been officially withdrawn from circulation, the banks would not have been allowed to give them out but would have returned them to the mint to be destroyed. Psychonaut 13:48, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)
Not to mention, I have a numisimatic relative who gifts me with a new uncirculated set each year; the 50-cent piece has been there every year, through 2004. That set includes all the regularly-minted coins. Radagast 14:50, Jan 3, 2005 (UTC)
Yep. And I should also clarify that among the 50¢ coins I would receive from the banks were several bearing dates after 1987. Thus the OP's theory of the 50¢ piece being withdrawn after the loonie's introduction is unfounded. Psychonaut 18:23, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)
I have a 2001 50 cent coin sitting in my pile of change. While they're certainly not common, they are still in circulation, and Post Offices (real CanadaPost ones, not RPOs) commonly hand them out as part of any change. Snickerdo 04:28, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)
To put it in terms us Americans can get, it's like our new dollar coin. You can get it in a bank if you ask for it, it's legal tender, but most people don't use it. -GregNorc (talk)
Well, I have it in a case and in a circular paper holder. One is from 2000 and another in 1999. It was sold by the Royal Canadian Mint. -- cncxbox

[edit] Added some subsection titles...

Some of them seem ackward to me, but I couldn't think of any better ones. If anyone thinks they can make a better one, go at it... -GregNorc (talk)

[edit] Move specifications to other articles?

Now that there are seperate articles for each coin, containing all the information found in the Specifications section of this article, I think we should soon remove the chart of coin specifications and the picture of the coins from this article. In my opinion, we just need to add a photo of the current obverse to each coin's article, and then we should remove the coin specs from here.

I think we should also work towards removing the bills from the specifications section too. Before doing this, we should start articles for all the bills and find individual photos of (at least) the front of each bill to add to these articles. I think the Birds of Canada series information could then be dropped from the Specifications section too. If desired, each of the individual bill articles could describe the previous version of the bill. --thirty-seven 10:05, Mar 5, 2005 (UTC)

I recognised the raised dots on the banknotes! The dots are one group of six dots on the $5, two groups of six on the $10, and so on. Scott Gall 09:22, 2005 May 1 (UTC)

[edit] Location of dollar bill scene

I remember reading, once upon a time, that on a bill there was a prairie scene showing Bluesky, Alberta, in the distance. Going through the list in the article, the description that comes closest is the 1954 $1 bill -- "Saskatchewan prairie". I'm tempted to correct this, but I don't completely trust my memory. Could someone check a good reference and confirm the location of this scene? Indefatigable 03:05, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

The BoC page on it ([1]) describes it as "Saskatchewan prairie and sky"; I'll take their word on it, personally. Radagast 13:38, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Out of Ccirculation

Not mentioned here is the former C$0.20 piece... Trekphiler 22:53, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

I'm not familiar with that one... are you sure the Dominion of Canada (post-1867) produced such a coin? Radagast 17:34, 31 January 2006 (UTC)
Not sure of the date, but as I recall, it went out of circulation around 1911 with the intro of the dime. Trekphiler 02:31, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

Never heard of 20 cent piece. But their should be pictures of the 500 and 1000 dollar bills, plus trivia on bills (a 1000 bill sells for 1012 dollars if unopened, 1006 if opened, etc.) Theonlyedge 02:49, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Older exchange rate

There is a sentence in this article that says the dollar hit a 14-year high. Where does one find old exchange rate info? Yahoo Finance only goes back 5 years. Tnikkel 09:02, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

Statistics Canada's CANSIM data base has data up to 1945, but you have to pay for it. You can get free information from the Bank of Canada's for the last 10 years. I have uploaded a graph of the data from 1950. Luigizanasi 17:18, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for the info. That is an excellent chart, and much needed in this article. Tnikkel 22:01, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

I have found a chart of exchange rates in an online book "A History of the Canadian Dollar" by James Powell, http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/dollar_book/dollar_book.pdf. This book has a chart in the appendix with exchange rates dating back to 1858. JCB 14:16 PST 3 July 2006

This book even quotes Wikipedia!!! See p. 20 & p. 104. Anyway, it is a good reference. Luigizanasi 00:44, 4 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] BoC images available

http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/banknotes/legislation/images.html

This looks to be a compatible licence. Any images in particular that we could/should use? Radagast 15:13, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Historic value

This article states that the dollar was originally valued at 5/-, but I'm pretty sure that's incorrect. Historically, the pound was valued at $4.862/3, and in Halifax, the dollar was rated at 5 to the pound, which makes it FOUR shillings (£1 = 20 shillings), not five. Nik42 02:31, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Splitting the article

The article is overly long and difficult to navigate. What do others think of splitting it into Canadian dollar, Canadian coinage and Canadian bank notes, similar to what is done for the Pound sterling, British coinage and British banknotes? Luigizanasi 21:13, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

That may work quite well, especially considering that Withdrawn Canadian banknotes could be merged into that Canadian bank notes article. Radagast 21:09, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
I support splitting this article into the three articles as Luigizanasi describes. --thirty-seven 00:33, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

I have gone ahead and split the article. See Canadian coinage and Canadian banknotes. We probably need more specific and appropriate images for each article now. Unsigned comment by thirty-seven 19:01, 22 April 2006

[edit] CA$ vs C$

What are the arguments either way? I've seen both. Tnikkel 19:47, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

Neither - I think it's unnecessary to include this information, since the dollar sign ($) is used on its own 99.9% of the time in Canada when referring to the Canadian dollar. In foreign lands its common to use the currency code (CAD). I'm sure some publications use C$ and CA$, but that may be due to their in-house rules - I don't think there's a consensus. --thirty-seven 04:41, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
The above is not necessarily agreeable and seems subjective. C$ is used and recommended in The Canadian Style (a style guide produced by the federal government) and notes increasing use of CAD (ISO); Editing Canadian English notes Can$ and CDN$ and also indicates ISO usage when necessary. All are used globally and locally when needed to disambiguate and differentiate other dollar currencies. I cannot directly attest to, nor does either publication note, CA$. E Pluribus Anthony | talk | 07:16, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
If there is no clear winner then we shouldn't be endorsing any one or any other. Tnikkel 07:26, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
This isn't a popularity contest per se: if they are verifiably common, any of them warrant inclusion. E Pluribus Anthony | talk | 07:36, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
Yeah, I meant that all of them should be listed. Tnikkel 07:46, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
OK; I guess my concern is that at least I cannot verify usage of CA$ but can do so for others. E Pluribus Anthony | talk | 07:54, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
This page says that Microsoft Money uses the symbol CA$ for the Canadian dollar. Tnikkel 19:58, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
Hmmm ... other usage? I think including all of the abbreviations upfront would clutter the intro. Perhaps an equitable treatment of the various abbreviations would be to retain the CAD note upfront with C$ (per Australian dollar, etc.), and include others in a referenced footnote with brief expansion? E Pluribus Anthony | talk | 20:05, 1 May 2006 (UTC)
Sounds good. Tnikkel 20:44, 1 May 2006 (UTC)
Great; I've amended my comment above as well (C$ upfront, as per Australian dollar, et al.; others noted below). I hope that's OK. E Pluribus Anthony | talk | 20:48, 1 May 2006 (UTC)
Done! E Pluribus Anthony | talk | 21:41, 1 May 2006 (UTC)
What about writing the amount "$500 (Cdn)". That seems to be a common form that people use. Tnikkel 22:19, 1 May 2006 (UTC)
Hmmm. I can't corroborate that (yet) and can possibly be added to the note if it can be. Anyhow, I think it is partially covered off through the current note and otherwise might be unnecessary. E Pluribus Anthony | talk | 22:24, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

Canadian Style (2nd ed) was published in 1997 and it's only a guide. Even Public Works is inconsistent in their use:

  • CAN $ 100 000[2]
  • C$100,000[3]

Personaly, I'm biased towards $100,000 CAD, given my exposure to forex trading and conversion. -- Robocoder (talk | contribs) 23:48, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Economic projections of parity with US dollar

Some economists now speculate that the dollar will reach parity with the U.S. dollar by late 2007.[1]

I added the above referenced statement. It was removed by another contributor. My opinion is that it is relevant and properly sourced. However, I'd like to gather feedback here to decide whether such a statement should be included or not in this article. I welcome anyone's expertise on whether such statements meet wikipedia standards. --thirty-seven 05:18, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

I agree with including some notation of this. Not only is it a topic of some interest, particularly if accompanied with some discussion of when C$ was last at parity with the US$, but it's 'recent' upward climb IMO warrants some sort of treatment. E Pluribus Anthony | talk | 08:16, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Defacement & the Queen's Image

Anyone want to tackle the illegality of defacing Canadian currency due to the presence of the Queen's image?

Is there anything on the books about this? It's the first I've heard of it... Radagast 02:56, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
It's a somewhat commonly accepted and perpetuated "fact", possibly having roots in old Commonwealth laws, but I have yet to see specific evidence of it in any Canadian statutes. If anyone knows of the story behind all this, it might make for a good Trivia addition to the article. 206.248.129.46 20:11, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] On the paper

Anyone know who actually produces the paper C$ notes use? Trekphiler 02:34, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Funny

The toonie has the "queen on the front, with a BEAR behind"

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