Lack of New Prefixes?

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I noticed, so far in 2014, there were hardly any new prefixes for the Polymer $5's and $10's.  The $10's, I can fully understand, as there is a lesser need for them, and based on trends from as far back as 2012, it seems as if new $10 prefixes occur approximately every 9 months.  Every so many years, demand for the $10s drop (as the stuff that $10 bills buy now, $20 bills will buy then), and the gaps between new $10 prefixes broadens by about 3 months.  If this trend continues, new $10 prefixes where I live may end up becoming an annual event.

As for the $5's, I hardly saw any fresh new Polymer $5 prefixes this year so far - I may have seen very small ranges of HBL and HBM, but nothing otherwise - and 2014 is quickly approaching the halfway point.  I learned from a co-worker that she sees toonies in her change less now.  Makes me wonder if that could be the reason why the number of $5 bills in circulation across Canada was at an all-time high in 2012?  But I wonder if many of the paper $5 bills in circulation are still in good quality, and that may be the reason why there has been no movement in new polymer $5 bills coming to my region so far this year.  I also noticed that the majority of Polymer $5's I see in my change are HBJ prefix.  If I see a Polymer $10 in my change, right now the probability is over 95% in favor of prefix FEW.  but at least the probability of seeing an HBJ on a $5 bill in my change is lesser.

If a new $10 prefix does come my way in July or August, I think it will be then that I will safely declare that new $10 prefixes will only be delivered to banks in my region approximately every 9 months, and that prefix will likely be the only new $10 prefix seen in my region this year.  It seems as if I really appreciate the $20 bill now more than ever, and as of lately, I may be losing interest in the $10 bill.

The release of new prefixes does seem to correlate with demand for any particular denomination indicating Canadian's high use the $20 over other lower "denoms."   The polymer prefix release (& replacement of Journey prefixes) is also slower for the lower denominations & the polymer $5 prefixes are far more varied than the $10.  It appears that the $10 has been the paper that has been phased out quickest with the $5 and $20 following since the 10 have fewer # to be replaced.

What I find really interesting is to check the SNDB and get an idea of the reported prefixes for each of the $5, $10, $20 in the bar graph that shows the last 2 months of entries.  I have not seen an FTG or FTH $10 yet pretty high numbers have been reported.  Obviously, each prefix is released in a particular region, and they just don't seem to be released in my area. 

The $20 prefix graphs in the SNDB for polymer also showa a lack of FSF, FSR & FSS prefixes however we do know that larger prefix ranges mean greater variation in release dates (places notes may be released but are not reported) so it would be premature to assume these are going to be rare prefixes.  However it is fun to observe and speculate.

You make a good point, WTTW.  Now that I think of it, while I do still see Journey $10's in my change to this day (even if not very often), there may be a chance that the majority of Journey $10's that existed where I live are now replaced, even if more than half of them are FEW prefix.  I did see a range of FTA in the high 4 million/low 5 million range in my change at least several times since March at my local Sobeys.  I am not sure if FTA in that range I mentioned exists elsewhere in Canada, and if so, maybe that could be an indicator that Sobeys orders their $10 bills from Ontario and not from a local commercial banking center (I thought I read somewhere that Sobeys is an Ontario-based company?).

All right, I absolutely love it every time we have this same discussion every couple of months.  And I will give the same reply to this same discussion.

Not all prefixes are distributed evenly across the country.  In addition, the durability of the new polymer substrate should mean that fewer notes need to be produced over time, meaning fewer prefixes are needed to keep up with the lowered demand.

If you live in an isolated part of the country and don't like seeing a very limited spectrum of prefixes in circulation in your area, move somewhere else.  We don't have any problems here in Ontario with low turnover rates, and lots of tourism from other parts of the country brings with it notes that were not issued here.  Come here if you want to see lots of different prefixes.

Come here if you want to see lots of different prefixes.

No, not Ontario, for some real "excitement" move to Quebec (at least they had some M/C $5 paper and plastic)   

No, not Ontario, for some real "excitement" move to Quebec (at least they had some M/C $5 paper and plastic)   

  "Had" is indeed the correct word.  It's been months since I've received a M/C 5$ note

  And about new prefixes, it is true they are not evenly distributed though eventually I'd say at least most prefixes (even if it comes much later perhaps years later after being first released) will eventually find it's way to you.

  "Had" is indeed the correct word.  It's been months since I've received a M/C 5$ note

  And about new prefixes, it is true they are not evenly distributed though eventually I'd say at least most prefixes (even if it comes much later perhaps years later after being first released) will eventually find it's way to you.

I agree.  And now that I think about it, I realized that the "Printed in 2010" Journey $5 bills may have been first released in circulation somewhere in Canada in 2010, and it took nearly 2 years to finally reach my region.  The "Printed in 2009" $10s was first issued somewhere in Canada in later 2009, and it took 4 years to go through the vast majority of them.

Looking ahead, I think the latter of the Polymer $10 prefixes will likely not appear in my region until later in 2015, maybe even 2016.  Though in places such as Ontario, the Journey $10s were likely phased out the quickest out of all the denominations currently in circulation, yet FTG and FTH still have yet to gain more exposure.  I may as well play the waiting game and wait patiently for the new prefixes to come my way, even if it takes at least a couple of years.

Out of 14 $10 notes obtained today from a bank, here is the breakdown of prefixes.

FEY   1
FTA   1
FTB   2
FTC   2
FTD   3
FTE   1
FTF   2
FTG   2

FogDevil: If you were to take out $200 in $10s, what would be the breakdown by prefix?

FogDevil: If you were to take out $200 in $10s, what would be the breakdown by prefix?

I wouldn't know, because I no longer go to the bank and request $200 in $10 bills.

But, based on what I saw in my change in the last six months, if I were to guess, and if I requested all Polymer $10's in my $200 bank transaction, it would be mostly be a mix of FEW and FTA, or maybe all FEW.