Personal Finance

dollar bills and sequence number

  • Last Updated:
  • Jan 3rd, 2008 6:40 pm
Tags:
None
Banned
Jan 3, 2006
1887 posts
5 upvotes

dollar bills and sequence number

I made a withdrawal of $540 and all 27 $20 bills had their serial numbers in sequence.

Is Bank of Canada printing money like crazy? :confused:
19 replies
Deal Guru
User avatar
Feb 13, 2004
10602 posts
687 upvotes
Mississauga
rosebud wrote: I made a withdrawal of $540 and all 27 $20 bills had their serial numbers in sequence.

Is Bank of Canada printing money like crazy? :confused:
Money is cut in a sheet and then shuffled in the same order as cut. If they are loading the cash with new currency (which is often the case with bank machines), then your apt to get some sequential every now and then.

Also, cash has a very limited lifespan. Bank of Canada very regularly takes old money (rips, tears, or simply in circulation past it's expected lifespan), shreds it and replaced it with fresh crisp bills.
Deal Addict
Mar 21, 2007
1075 posts
10 upvotes
Markham
rosebud wrote: Is Bank of Canada printing money like crazy? :confused:
Yes they are! $20 bills only last about five years in circulation, so think about how many they have to print every year just to replace 20% of all the ones that are out there!
Its even worse with 10's and 5's, but you don't get them from a machine, so you don't notice the sequential numbering as much.
Deal Addict
Dec 28, 2006
2497 posts
138 upvotes
Saskatoon
notanexpert wrote: Yes they are! $20 bills only last about five years in circulation,
According to the BoC the average lifespan of a $20 is 2-4 years. Which means printing 25-50% of the notes in circulation just to replace the ones that are withdrawn from circulation.

http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/banknotes/facts.html

I haven't found anything on the site with respect to the actual number of notes in circulation.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Mar 1, 2006
16854 posts
1284 upvotes
Oh wow,that's a lot of paper.
2013 Contest Win Wishlist
  • Leafs Tickets / iPad / E-Reader / 46" HDTV / PS3 Gaming System / Cash / Guitar / Keurig
Deal Addict
User avatar
Oct 1, 2004
3395 posts
10 upvotes
JayTee1 wrote: Oh wow,that's a lot of paper.
Which makes the 5$ coin make sense to a degree. Maybe they could laminate all the money lol
:mad: :lol:
Deal Guru
User avatar
Feb 13, 2004
10602 posts
687 upvotes
Mississauga
blizzah wrote: Maybe they could laminate all the money lol
Laminate is permanent - not biodegradable - and you are suggesting this in the environmental crises we're in?
Deal Addict
Jan 5, 2006
1054 posts
253 upvotes
Mississauga
Or we can consider using polymer banknotes, like in Australia.
Deal Addict
Apr 5, 2007
3008 posts
6929 upvotes
SamInfinity wrote: Or we can consider using polymer banknotes, like in Australia.
It costs more to have polymer notes made.. besides, they stick together when wet.. think about Canadian weather... :D
Deal Addict
User avatar
Oct 1, 2004
3395 posts
10 upvotes
dmdsoftware2 wrote: Laminate is permanent - not biodegradable - and you are suggesting this in the environmental crises we're in?
I didn't know that, just offering a suggestion.
:mad: :lol:
Deal Expert
User avatar
Dec 11, 2005
20123 posts
2949 upvotes
dmdsoftware2 wrote: Laminate is permanent - not biodegradable - and you are suggesting this in the environmental crises we're in?
a) It doesn't have to be bidegradeable because it lasts longer, which is the point

b) Paper doesn't biodegrade well at all in a modern sealed landfill anyway

c) Australia has had plastic bills for a long time, it lasts much longer and is even washable. The bills are still very flexible and totally usable. I imagine they save a ton on printing costs compared to us.

I would rather see the BOC switch to plastic bills than add yet another coin to my already crowded pocket.
Deal Addict
Dec 28, 2006
2497 posts
138 upvotes
Saskatoon
brunes wrote: a) It doesn't have to be bidegradeable because it lasts longer, which is the point

b) Paper doesn't biodegrade well at all in a modern sealed landfill anyway
Paper notes (made from cotton paper) are burned not landfilled.
brunes wrote: c) Australia has had plastic bills for a long time, it lasts much longer and is even washable. The bills are still very flexible and totally usable. I imagine they save a ton on printing costs compared to us.
Not necessarily, Does the increased lifespan outweigh the increased cost of production?

And is it better environmentaly to use cotton paper that comes from a renewable source or to use polymer notes that come from oil?

Cotton paper could be recycled, but isn't, and polymer notes are shredded and recycled into other stuff.

It would be interesting to know if the polymer notes are cost effective.

The (possibly) complicating factor is that the polymer notes from NPA http://www.noteprinting.com/about_NPA.html may be a proprietary process that they may not be willing to share. This would mean outsourcing the printing of Canadian notes to a foreign company. This would likely be a political hot potato no matter which party was in government.
Deal Fanatic
Jul 1, 2007
8569 posts
1763 upvotes
I like the Aussie bills too, but the downside with the higher cost is, what if due to rampant counterfeiting you have to redesign the bill and reprint (such as with our $5 and $10 bills over the past 5 years).
Deal Expert
User avatar
Dec 11, 2005
20123 posts
2949 upvotes
ghostryder wrote: Paper notes (made from cotton paper) are burned not landfilled.
False.

The Bank of Canada must be prepared to supply financial institutions with enough bank notes to satisfy public demand. Financial institutions get bank notes through the country's Bank Note Distribution System and return notes that are considered unfit for further circulation to the Bank of Canada. These notes are verified on high-speed, note-processing equipment and then shredded. The resulting shred is disposed of in landfill sites.

http://www.bank-banque-canada.ca/en/about/currency.html
Not necessarily, Does the increased lifespan outweigh the increased cost of production?
Though I don't have the numbers handy I assume it likely is considering how many notes are currently produced
And is it better environmentaly to use cotton paper that comes from a renewable source or to use polymer notes that come from oil?
Yes, for the same reason it is more sentimentality sound to use styrofoam cups than paper ones. Even when paper is recycled it requires much more energy to produce and refine than polymers. The majority of that energy comes from burning non-renewable fossil fuels. There are numerous sources you can find to verify this.
The (possibly) complicating factor is that the polymer notes from NPA http://www.noteprinting.com/about_NPA.html may be a proprietary process that they may not be willing to share. This would mean outsourcing the printing of Canadian notes to a foreign company. This would likely be a political hot potato no matter which party was in government.
I am pretty sure us Canadians are smart enough to figure out how to make plastic money... it isn't rocket science. The Royal Canadian Mint itself is at the forefront of several areas of minting, this would be nothing special, they could do it.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Dec 11, 2005
20123 posts
2949 upvotes
Thalo wrote: I like the Aussie bills too, but the downside with the higher cost is, what if due to rampant counterfeiting you have to redesign the bill and reprint (such as with our $5 and $10 bills over the past 5 years).
It is already very hard to counterfit the current bills due to the UV signatures and holograms. If you kept these features and ALSO made them out of polymer they would be very difficult to counterfit.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Oct 1, 2004
3395 posts
10 upvotes
brunes wrote: It is already very hard to counterfit the current bills due to the UV signatures and holograms. If you kept these features and ALSO made them out of polymer they would be very difficult to counterfit.
But it will be counterfeited soon enough. Everytime a new bill is introduced in anycountry it is advertised as "counterfeit proof"
:mad: :lol:
Deal Expert
User avatar
Dec 11, 2005
20123 posts
2949 upvotes
blizzah wrote: But it will be counterfeited soon enough. Everytime a new bill is introduced in anycountry it is advertised as "counterfeit proof"
It doesn't have to be "counterfit proof". It just has to be hard enough to not make it trivial. They only redesign the bills once every 10 years or so, if that.
Deal Addict
Dec 28, 2006
2497 posts
138 upvotes
Saskatoon
brunes wrote: False.

The Bank of Canada must be prepared to supply financial institutions with enough bank notes to satisfy public demand. Financial institutions get bank notes through the country's Bank Note Distribution System and return notes that are considered unfit for further circulation to the Bank of Canada. These notes are verified on high-speed, note-processing equipment and then shredded. The resulting shred is disposed of in landfill sites.

http://www.bank-banque-canada.ca/en/about/currency.html
And then, at least according to a documentary I saw a couple of years ago, the shredded bits go to a commercial incinerator. Maybe that has changed?

brunes wrote: Yes, for the same reason it is more sentimentality sound to use styrofoam cups than paper ones. Even when paper is recycled it requires much more energy to produce and refine than polymers. The majority of that energy comes from burning non-renewable fossil fuels. There are numerous sources you can find to verify this.
I was suggesting a question not making a statement. If you have sources why don't you provide them?
brunes wrote: I am pretty sure us Canadians are smart enough to figure out how to make plastic money... it isn't rocket science. The Royal Canadian Mint itself is at the forefront of several areas of minting, this would be nothing special, they could do it.
Without violating any patents?
Deal Addict
Apr 5, 2007
3008 posts
6929 upvotes
brunes wrote: Without violating any patents?
Just to give some example:

Singapore, Mexico, Romania, etc all have their polymer notes made by RBA. http://www.rba.gov.au/PublicationsAndRe ... urency.pdf

New Zealand also have their notes created by RBA. http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/currency.html

The exception to that is Hong Kong, which began issuing polymer notes back in July
"polymer substrate is supplied by the manufacturer in Australia and shipped to Switzerland for printing" http://www.tdctrade.com/econforum/hkma/hkma070703.htm

So it seems like either way you have to go through Australia to get the polymer and then shipped back to Canada (when they acquire the technology) for printing.

Top

Thread Information

There is currently 1 user viewing this thread. (0 members and 1 guest)