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american money in circulation in Canada

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

I don't seem to be able to go a week without some American money winding up in my pocket.

I suppose American coins have always come into circulation in Toronto, but no one seems to be plucking them out anymore. Given the relatively stable and close exchange rate between the two, it's to be expected. I like it. It makes for more variety in the coins since there seem to be US quarters that commemorate all of the states, for instance: that's 50 new varieties right there.

For that matter, I have to wonder how much longer we'll be minting coins. It's nearly impossible to buy anything in Toronto down at the level of coins (under two dollars), even a bottle of coke costs more. This shows in the way that coins are treated. Since I've been back I've noticed that nickels and dimes have joined pennies in the take/leave trays at retail shops. The other day I saw a dime on a busy sidewalk and I didn't even bother to pick it up. Vending machines don't take anything smaller than a quarter, and some don't take anything but $1 and $2 coins. I now make the bulk of my purchases with a debit card, and suspect that it's the same for a growing percentage of people.

I vote that we ditch the penny and dime immediately. Let's round off all prices to the nearest 5¢ the way the Australians have been doing for over a decade.