Disclosing details of behind-the-scenes discussions about tales of melting banknotes could endanger national security or international relations, says Canada’s central bank.
In response to a formal request from The Canadian Press, the Bank Of Canada released 134 pages of internal records — almost completely blanked out — concerning allegations its new polymer bills melted in the scorching summer sun.
The bank began issuing $100 polymer banknotes in late 2011, saying they were harder to counterfeit than paper notes and would last much longer.
Unconfirmed reports of cooked currency emerged in July when a Kelowna, B.C., bank teller said she had heard of cases in which several bills had melted together inside a car.
Soon after, Mona Billard of Cambridge, Ont., reported that she had returned eight plastic bills in January, after her son stashed his $800 Christmas bonus in a tin can and hid it near a baseboard heater.
When he retrieved them the next day to make a deposit, the $100 banknotes had shriveled and melted.
Ms. Billard exchanged clean bills for the shrunken, unusable ones.
“The leather couch is up against the baseboard heater, it doesn’t melt,” she said.
“The kids’ toys are back there, they don’t melt.”
The Bank of Canada will reimburse damaged notes, but only if they clear an examination by an Ottawa laboratory.
“It took me six months to get the money back. I had to nag them and nag them,” said Ms. Billard, who got her cheque from the bank this month.
The bank swiftly denied that its new bills could be affected by heat in these ways.
“The Bank has encountered no evidence that polymer bank notes are being affected by heat as has been suggested in recent news reports,” said Julie Girard, a bank spokeswoman, in an email to the National Post in July.
Ms. Girard noted “no bill is indestructible,” but claimed “Canadian banknotes have been designed to ensure they can withstand the demanding weather.”
The Bank of Canada issued 175 million $50 banknotes in March and $100 denominations in November, and plans to roll out $5, $10 and $20 versions next year.
To test durability, the banknotes were boiled, frozen and run through washing machines. A tumbling mechanism filled with coffee grinds, marbles, bolts and synthetic sweat was meant to simulate the effect of being left in a pocket.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/01/01/bank-of-canada-wont-discuss-melting-plastic-bills-says-national-security-behind-silence/
