The future of Canada's $10 bill

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[Do you think the BoC will someday discontinue the $10 bill due to low usage?]

Do you think the BoC will someday discontinue the $10 bill due to low usage?

Yes

3 (8.1%)

No

30 (81.1%)

Maybe

4 (10.8%)

Total Members Voted: 0

The $10 bill seems to be at an all-time low in circulation.  And the circulation seems to be getting lower and lower as the year progresses.

The latest print year of our $10 bill (2007) has only yielded 4 full-run prefixes thus far (BTG-BTK) and BTL has yet to see the light of day.

The first full-run prefix was first reported in August, and the last full-run prefix was first reported in early October.  There is already rumour going around about the prefix FTD, but some of us are taking it with a grain of salt for now.

And more and more Canadians nowadays are paying for purchases electronically and by debit card payments.  It seems like no matter how many $10 purchases exist in the future - more or less - there will be no significant increase in the usage of $10 bills.

Based on issues related to climate change, paper consumption, and the ever-increasing usage of electronic purchasing and debit card payments (or other reasoning you can provide) - which requires less demand for an infrequently used small denomination - what are your thoughts on the future of our $10 bill?

It's fun to speculate,

If the BoC decides to break out the $5 coin we would see the increased use of $10 bill. How else our well off, stressed out, caffeine addicted yuppie segment of our culture buy their Specially made Monkey poop latte grande from *Bucks.  I believe it  is tradition to maintain the Ten for now regardless how little circulation it gets compared to other denominations. After all the BoC still makes coin halves. Canada has a rich history, where else could we shine our favorite PM Sir John A McDonald other than his name being used by a fast food chain? 

Would you like friez wit dat mon?

BTW: I'm seeing BTH coming out here in BC.

I see that, unanimously, they voted no thus far.

Well, I am not one to say this, but I voted yes.  The $10 bill is not as popular as it was 10 or 20 years ago.  There are so few purchases that cost between $5 and $10 than purchases that cost $5 or less.  Only banks that rely on heavy traffic order $10s on a regular basis, and chances are that in 5 years' time, even fewer banks will order $10s and that shows that such denomination is slipping - just like a well-known television show is declining in ratings.  And I believe when the new banknote series gets announced in 2011 or so, I have a feeling that 4 denominations will be confirmed for release - thus labelling a new $10 bill as TBD (to be determined).  A good way for me to tell what the future holds for our $10 bill is when the BT- or FT- run completes its cycle, and if they will advance to a recycled denominational letter or advance to CD- or GD- respectively.  If the latter, it may be a bad omen of things to come.  After all, the $2s did advance to CBA immediately after BUZ, and that may have been an indicator that death was nearing for our $2 bill.  Maybe the BoC had planned in 1993 or 1994 to can the $2 bill but never released that information until the 1995 Federal Budget.

If the BoC does decide to release a new $10 bill, it will probably be the last denomination of the new banknote series and will probably occur around 2018 or something.  Since everyone is paying for items with electronic debit or online payments, the $10 bill may be nothing but clutter over time (with very little usage), and the BoC will most likely make the ultimate decision to discontinue the $10 bill for good by the time Canada celebrates its sesquicentennial year (150th birthday) in 2017.  They'll most likely do a 10-year forecast of how many $5-$10 purchases in Canada will increase or decrease in a few years' time.  If an increase, they'll put out slightly more $10s, not significantly more.  If an endless decline prevails (which is probably happening currently), the end of an era in Canadian currency may be at hand.  Not to mention the first time in BoC's history that a Prime Minister would leave our currency for good (before we even say bye-bye to Sir Wilfrid Laurier).

And I always wonder what Sir John A. MacDonald would say if that were to happen?

Could we put him on the $20 and bump the Queen? It is the only note that doesn't have a PM on it.

Could we put him on the $20 and bump the Queen? It is the only note that doesn't have a PM on it.

The day they do decide to drop the $10 bill from circulation (whenever that would be), the Queen will probably be deceased by then.  So maybe the BoC are already preparing for the unexpected but eventual demise of the $10 bill (give it another 7 or 8 years, and a decision may be made), and they may stop the $10 bill when the Queen passes away and they may put Sir John A. MacDonald's portrait on the $20 - resulting in uniformity on our banknotes.  He may look a bit strange on a green-coloured note, but hey we would eventually get adjusted to it.

And if the $10 bill does go the way of the $2 bill someday, at least we will have four denominations circulating - the two smallest denominations ($5 and $20) being the most frequented, and the two largest ($50 and $100) being the least frequently used.  It seems rather awkward to have an infrequently-used banknote between the two most commonly used banknotes in Canada, IMO.

I don't know... circulation of 10s here is pretty healthy in my opinion, judging by the census I get when I check my mom's wallet for collectibles. The day the BoC drops the 10 is the day i stop using cash and sell my entire banknote collection and never have anything to do with paper money again. Yes, I really do like the 10s that much.

Of course, it depends on where you are.  Some larger provinces, circulation is pretty good; some smaller provinces, circulation is not that great.  If anything, most banks in smaller provinces (like P.E.I. and Newfoundland, to name two) will no longer order $10s - meaning the $10 bill will eventually become obsolete in those provinces like the $1,000 bill was.  If one province's banks no longer order $10s on a regular basis, then every other province will order them and not P.E.I., Newfoundland, or other small provinces, resulting in the $10 bill not being available across the entire country, and the decision may be made by the BoC to drop the $10 bill due to lack of consistency among the provinces let alone ultimately low demand.

Newfoundland, small?

Newfoundland, small?

According to the Statistics Canada website, 505,469 residents were reported to be living in Newfoundland during the 2006 Census (a decrease from 512,930 in 2001).  It may be a little less now, but the 2011 Census will speak volumes.

Aside from the 3 territories, P.E.I. is the lowest populated province with around 135,000 residents in both 2001 and 2006 respectively.  Newfoundland is the second smallest Canadian province in terms of population.

It seems that people are very less prone to receive a $10 bill in his/her change if he/she was living in P.E.I., in other words.

I read in an article lurking on the Web that the BoC plans on releasing new banknote series every seven years instead of 15.  If a new banknote series was to be launched in 2011, there would have to be another in 2018.  But with five denominations currently in circulation, it may be a bit too intense to issue all five denominations in such short time frame, since the last new banknote may occur shortly before the next series would be released.

And although the latest $10 bill was upgraded in 2005, it is still basically the same as the 2001 issue - only with additional security features in lieu of the golden maple leaves.  Releasing all five denominations within such short time frame may be a bit intense (besides, the Journey series was pretty much complete within 3 to 4 years of the series launch), so I can see our $10 bill heading to "currency heaven" by 2012 or 2013.

Another indicator that our $10 bill may go the way of the dinosaur is the prefix that will follow BTZ or FTZ.  If the BoC decides to recycle a formerly-retired denominational letter (only A, B, C, F, G, and U remain), that means the $10 bill is likely to linger on for another few years.  If they go back to the earliest denominational letter (that being "D") and release CDA or GDA after BTZ or FTZ respectively, that may possibly mean the demise of our $10 bill may be nearing us.

And besides, if they were planning on retiring the $10 bill from circulation, what would be the point of recycling a denominational letter?  That recycled denominational letter would end up originally on the $2 bill, then the $10 bill, and eventually a third denomination.  It would be kind of pointless to do so, IMO.

I don't know... circulation of 10s here is pretty healthy in my opinion, judging by the census I get when I check my mom's wallet for collectibles. The day the BoC drops the 10 is the day i stop using cash and sell my entire banknote collection and never have anything to do with paper money again. Yes, I really do like the 10s that much.

Depending on the location you live, you have to consider the overall population of the remainder of the province.  If you live in Toronto, that city has a population of over 5,000,000.  And Ontario's overall population is more than 10,000,000 (at least that is what I read from the 2006 census).  In terms of population, I believe the total population of all the smaller cities and towns comprise more than half of Canada's population.  And $10 bills are rarely circulated in smaller cities and communities - it seems as if fewer and fewer banks order them nowadays; so either way, I can just throw in the towel and focus on banknotes with higher demand in the near future.  IMO, $10 bills are more a denomination for the 1980s and the year 1990, but after 1991 they all went downhill from there.

And btw, as long as the banks I frequent still order $10s, I will still request them from that particular bank.  I just won't be expecting much in terms of activity for crisp $10 bills any longer.  I think the clock may be ticking on our $10 bill being axed in a few years' time.

As long as ATM's keep spitting out 20's, still need to make change. And I don't really want a pocket full of $5 or $10 coins....lol

As long as ATM's keep spitting out 20's, still need to make change. And I don't really want a pocket full of $5 or $10 coins....lol

They won't replace a $10 bill with a $10 coin.  If the BoC does decide to discontinue issuing the $10 bill, there will be no more $10 denomination in whatever form.  And besides, the number of Canadians who rely on debit payment increase year after year, if I am not mistaken.  If there happens to be more purchases out there that cost between $5 and $10 (with taxes), realizing that many Canadians pay for such purchases with debit, they'll just issue additional $5s but not a significantly higher volume.  And besides, getting 2 $5s back in your change, at least it beats getting $10 in coins in your change.

Not every transaction is legit, or can be made by debit payment, or every will be. But if I get back two $5 bills instead of a $10, the odds of getting consectuctive numbered bills increases dramaticaly.....

Not every transaction is legit, or can be made by debit payment, or every will be.

Like Tim Horton's, to name one.  Tim Horton's is so royally against the idea of having debit terminals, seeing that most of the items cost no more than $2 to $3, plus most Tim's outlets get heavy volumes of customers thus meaning that having a debit terminal would cause customer traffic to slow down dramatically.

And besides, if any $10 bills exist in a till at Tim's, they are very few and very far between and the cashier will not give them out unless it's an ultimate last resort.

As for most other places, they'll most likely have debit payment as an option.

But if I get back two $5 bills instead of a $10, the odds of getting consectuctive numbered bills increases dramaticaly.....

Chances may still be slimmer than you think, seeing there are so many $5 bills recycled.