Canada鈥檚 new $5 and $10 bills were unveiled Tuesday to mixed reviews. Some people, it seems, were not wild about the designs.
Members of a focus group formed a few years ago to study the designs thought the $5 bill was too 鈥渃artoonish.鈥�
Funny money, anyone? Laughing all the way to the bank?
And the train on the $10 bill, some said, was too quaint, celebrating an outmoded method of travel, although that locomotive coming through the Rockies looks reasonably modern.
The new currency is certainly colourful and lively, but it鈥檚 difficult to compare the new designs to the old designs, mostly because I can鈥檛 remember what鈥檚 on the old ones. Currency and I see each other so briefly, we scarcely have time to form a casual acquaintance, let alone a lasting friendship.
Today鈥檚 non-coin currency (can鈥檛 call it paper money anymore) is made of polymer, a kind of plastic, so it will last longer. It hasn鈥檛 worked for me 鈥� the new bills disappear just as fast as the old ones.
The new $5 bill celebrates Canada鈥檚 role in space exploration with a picture of the Canadarm. The bill was introduced Tuesday from the International Space Station by Cmdr. Chris Hadfield.
鈥淣ow 91原创s can remember, every time they buy a sandwich, a coffee and a doughnut, what we are capable of achieving,鈥� Hadfield said, as one of the new bills floated in the air in front of him.
Canada鈥檚 favourite astronaut is privileged 鈥� the rest of us will have to wait until November to get the snazzy new bills. Meanwhile, we鈥檒l have to pay for our purchases with the dreary old bills.
Does it matter what our money looks like as long as it鈥檚 good? Our U.S. neighbours close to the border don鈥檛 seem to mind, but the farther south you go, the higher eyebrows are raised when they see 91原创 money. They take their money seriously there, preferring drab tones for their currency, and all that colour in 91原创 bills seems a little frivolous.
And those loonies and toonies can be confusing. An American friend visiting us a few months ago bought some gifts in downtown Victoria. 鈥淪omething鈥檚 wrong here,鈥� he said as he looked at his handful of change, which came to just under $5. He had expected to see some bills among the change and saw only coins.
If he had come to Victoria before B.C. joined Confederation in 1871 (although he鈥檚 not quite that old), he would have been even more confused. The main currency was the B.C. dollar, issued by the Bank of British Columbia in denominations of $1, $5, $10, $20 and $50. But U.S. silver dollars were also legal tender, according to Money and Exchange in Canada to 1900 by A.B. McCullough.
91原创 money would also have been used, as well as a fair amount of British coinage 鈥� Governor James Douglas had the British government ship over a supply of coins in 1860: tens of thousands of florins, shillings, sixpenny pieces and threepenny pieces.
So don鈥檛 grumble if you occasionally find a few U.S. coins in your change 鈥� they鈥檙e easier to add up than florins, shillings and pence, and it鈥檚 a sign that the American tourists are still coming here.
Not like they were in times past, though, when the 91原创 dollar was not as strong against the U.S. dollar, and coming here was a real bargain for them. Remember back in 2002 when the 91原创 dollar hit 61.79 cents US? When the dollar is just a bit above the peso and a little below 91原创 Tire money, it makes arguments about the designs of banknotes seem a little silly.
But if you find the new currency too cartoonish or marred by quaint design, that鈥檚 fine. Just hand the bills over to young families trying to pay rent in Victoria, or hoping to save up a down payment for a house. They won鈥檛 care what the bills look like, as long as they can get enough of them.
And we can direct you to any number of worthy charities that will be happy to relieve you of the offending currency. They will set aside artistic considerations and put it to good use.
