Question on Canada's new Polymer Notes to come

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Hi

Im sure this topic has been covered already, but i cant seem to find it. So...

How can one grade a polymer note? I mean i guess there will be minute differences, but there could never be a condition variation from vg-gunc. What does this mean for the valuation in accordance to the grade the note is in?

In the future, other than rarer prefixes or inserts, how could a polymer note increase or decrease in value?

Also, one last question. Are they changing the designs for the new series?

Thanks, and im sorry if this has already been covered.

From my understanding the grading standards will remain the same, however the polymers might be more sensitive or prone to bends/folds etc. That would just mean that a higher premium could be realized for UNC grades or above if they are rarer to obtain.

They are going to change the designs for the new series.

I don't see why there would need to be different grading standards for polymer notes.  Most people don't feel comfortable grading paper notes, so... 

Honestly, I would expect polymer notes to be more resistant to wear, meaning it would take much longer for them to reach a grade of Fine or worse.  That would mean a greater abundance of middle grades in circulation.  As for uncirculated notes, who knows, maybe they'll all be perfect when they're new 

Polymer notes tend to get surface scratches in them.  They can be seen in the transparent windows of notes that have them.  Even a note that otherwise looks UNC might have a scratch or two visible in the window.  These scratches aren't visible/obvious/apparent on cotton paper.

I suppose that if collectors of Canadian currency demand price differentials for UNC notes with/without scratches, a separate grading standard for polymer will be devised and adopted. 

Every series has particular properties that are handled differently without changing the grading system.  1954 notes have ripples on heavily inked parts of the design and are desirable compared to flatter notes.  Multicolour notes have fuzzy edges for certain prefixes.  Journey notes have ripples and cup marks and both are seen as "bad".  I'm sure someone will invent some kind of criteria for the polymer notes by which to differentiate Gem-65s from Gem-67s.

Polymer notes tend to get surface scratches in them.  They can be seen in the transparent windows of notes that have them. 

I recently read an article that describes how scientists in Switzerland have developed polymers  that heal their own scratches when exposed to ultraviolet light.
Now that would be neat if these are the polymers used in our new banknotes.
Easy way to get those GEM 65 and 67 notes 

Regarding longevity of Polymer notes compared to cotton based ones. 

Given the average lifespan of the former notes and the estimated 2.5 times longer circulation of the new notes, why even bother promoting this benefit when they're likely to be replaced in far less time than that anyways?

For example if $100s have a shelf life of 10 years now, this could be theoretically stretched to 25 years, but at the rate they are redesigning them the BOC would be on their third series of polymer notes by then.

There won't be much of a savings on the high denominations but it would definitely benefit the $5 - $20 bills.

Also if there are no bar codes on these new bills, how then does the portable bill reader distinguish the denominations?

I think one consequence is that there won't be as many uncirculated bills pushed out as now when the polymer notes come out. After Australia switched its $100 to polymer, they printed large quantities in 1996 to 1999, and didn't do another print run until 2008 (a 9 year gap). However, they use denominations from $50 downwards very frequently, there's still a steady flow of new notes being issued. In our case, we might be seeing Macklem/Carney $100s for a very long time even if either one of them is replaced during the lifetime of the series.

The benefit of polymer does reside mostly with the low denominations, and other countries generally do the low denominations first in the transition to polymer. I think that the BoC is starting with the $100 to ease the transition for the public, as it's a less used note, and banknote handling equipment/ATMs will have a little more time to iron out any problems with the new notes.

The transition won't be without hiccups, if you've seen a full bundle of polymer notes before, they're about 1/3rd less thick than a bundle of $5 notes now, and counting machines will need to be adjusted for the thinness of the new notes. Banks in Australia also don't load consecutive brand new notes into ATMs even up to today as they tend to stick and cause jams in the machinery. They have to shuffle up new notes into circulated notes to guarantee that ATMs will run smoother.

Banks will also have to be vigilant in taking notes that have any tears in them, as they rip very easily once a cut is initiated on the note, possibly causing problems with note handling equipment. (I'm sure I'm not the only one to have gotten torn notes from the bank and ATMs). Even the central bank in Australia tells banks not to use elastics to band notes as they will cause the border to stretch, nor paperclips as they may cause the printing to scratch right off.

As for reading the notes, I heard the machine readable features is hidden within the ink located on certain parts of the note. (US notes contain magnetic ink in certain areas of the notes for machines to read them)

I noticed one thing with polymer notes after they have been in circulation, they tend to ripple at the top and bottom edges in a uniform matter. I've went through quite a few Australian $100 notes issued all the way from 1996 to 2008, and basically all of them, except for brand new UNC ones from the central bank have ripples on the edges. Like Canada, Australians don't really use $100 bills, and they were able to go 9 years without printing a run of $100 bills. Lots of notes in circulation are still from 1996 and have plenty of life left in them. I wonder how that's going to affect the redesign cycle of the BoC, considering that even the first batch of $50s and $100s are likely to last longer than the BoCs cycle of approximately 8 years.

I wonder how that's going to affect the redesign cycle of the BoC, considering that even the first batch of $50s and $100s are likely to last longer than the BoCs cycle of approximately 8 years.

Personally I hope they last a long long long time.
The longer they last, the less we have to collect

"Like Canada, Australians don't really use $100 bills, and they were able to go 9 years without printing a run of $100 bills. Lots of notes in circulation are still from 1996 and have plenty of life left in them."

Your assessment is not entirely correct.

1) Due to the potential Millennium bug, like many other countries around the world, additional notes were printed in 1999 for the $50 and $100 denominations. Yes, you might ask if this was the case, then why the $50 note have reprints since 2003 and for the $100 in 2008. The answer, in my opinion is simple. ATMs over here only dispensed $20 and $50, thus making these two notes seem more popular than others, and I believe the reprints were required for the $50 since 2003;
2) No, the $100 note is quite common over here. I only wish they have larger denomination, making traveling overseas with cash much easier.
3) Because of it longevity in plastic notes, right up to today, I can still find notes in circulating that issued in the mid 90s. 

I am wondering if anyone here can assist me in getting the new Canadian notes to be issued next month. If you can, please drop me a line here or at my blogspot web site at paperbanknotes. Thanking you in advance.