$5 coin? 'Ridiculous' Last Updated Mon, 22 Aug 2005 07:03:57 EDT CBC NewsThere won't be a $5 coin jingling in your pocket any time soon.
The federal government said it won't replace the $5 bill with a more economical coin. The Royal Canadian Mint suggested that the savings could be used to help fund Canada's Olympic athletes.
The Finance Department commissioned a poll to see what the public thinks about a new coin. Environics Research held focus groups in early May in Halifax, Hamilton and Winnipeg.
"The proposal to direct these savings to the athletes was greeted with notable hostility," Environics said in a June 2005 report, obtained by The Canadian Press.
Members of the focus group said a $5 coin would mean too much heavy change even if the new coin were lighter than loonies and toonies.
A study by the Bank of Canada in 1994 said the government had saved $487 million in the first five years after the introduction of the loonie. Coins are more durable than paper money and stay in circulation longer.