Yeah, it seems like the odds of getting crisp $10 bills over the counter now, you may have a better chance of winning $100 on a pull-tab ticket.
Last July, when I was shopping at a Sobeys outlet, I was talking to a Scotiabank employee that works (or worked) for a branch that used to be heavily dependent on crisp $10 bills that I haven't gone to since June 2007. She told me that the number of crisp $10 bills being delivered to that branch have gone down - BIG TIME! And the branch I deal with (located adjacent to the Sobeys where I shop), I haven't set foot into it since July. It seems as if my faith for crisp bills - unless it has to do with $20, $50, and $100 bills - is lost until later this year. I have a gut feeling they are heavily recycling the $5's and $10's like there's no tomorrow because they probably have to save money to print the upcoming Polymer bills at some point this year. It may cost more to produce a Polymer banknote than it is to produce a paper/cotton banknote, after all. One time cost, long term savings.
And oh yeah, I seem to rarely get a $10 bill in my change even more now, let alone get any crisp $10 bill from the bank. I bet, for my region, the $10 bill will end up becoming the next half dollar.