# Interchangeability of US and Canadian coins **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300 "2011-11-08T18:14:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/41 "2014-11-02T03:26:05Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > Aren’t US nickels still magnetic? US nickels have never been magnetic. They’re only 25% nickel. > [@Learjeff](#): > > See above: I doubt a machine can tell a US nickel from a Kanookel, and it’s possible the machine was simply full-up on nickels. A 1982-1999 Canadian nickel will probably be identical to a vending machine, but before that they were 99.9% nickel (which is magnetic) and after that they were almost all steel plated with nickel (also magnetic). > [@Muffin](#): > > Neither American nor Canadian pennies can be picked up by a magnet. Around half of Canadian pennies made after 2000 are (or were, I guess) copper-plated steel, so they can be picked up with a magnet. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/42 "2014-11-02T07:04:58Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > I find that US bills […] are difficult to differentiate quickly due to all being grey-greenish and of similar pattern. This is the second time in recent threads you’ve made this claim. Do the newer, non-grey-green, US bills not make it to Canada? I have a hard time believing that. > [@](#): > > One fellow tried to pay me with a chicken. I don’t know if it was a Canadian chicken or an American chicken. At least it wasn’t a pig. We wouldn’t want to reignite the [Pig War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_War)… ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/43 "2014-11-02T10:30:02Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > This is the second time in recent threads you’ve made this claim. Do the newer, non-grey-green, US bills not make it to Canada? I have a hard time believing that. The ATM near my office squirts out new US 20 dollar bills, and when using them in the USA I usually end up with 1, 5 and 10 dollar bills in change, so I personally do not often come across anything higher or come across US 2 dollar bills. For me, yes, the new US bills are grey-green and similar in pattern. [Federal Reserve Note - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Note#Post-2004_redesigned_series) Have a boo at Canadian banknotes in the 5, 10 and 20 denominations – the colour differentiation is much greater than the American banknotes, the images on the reverse are much more different from each other than the US notes are from each other, and the size of the denomination numbers is significantly larger (other than the US $5). [frontier series - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=frontier+series&safe=off&rlz=1C1KAFA_enCA591CA591&espv=2&biw=960&bih=453&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=6ARWVLvUI8u1sQS51YC4DQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg#safe=off&tbm=isch&q=frontier+series+banknote+reverse) ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/44 "2014-11-02T15:03:48Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Exactly. Spend as you go. I have exactly one $2 coin in my pocket right now: nothing else. Because in the U.S. coins have so little value that we don’t spend as we go. Change gets thrown in the jar in the bedroom and gets hauled to the bank once per year. It seems that on vacation, I have a bulk of $11 to $17 dollar purchases: meals, admission tickets, souvenirs, etc. So I pay with a $20, and in the U.S. I would get bills back which go into my wallet to be spent along with the rest. In Canada, I get loonies and toonies which laden me down like a pack mule. I do sometimes spend as I go because of this reason. But it takes a conscious decision to pay for a $12 fee by grabbing for change in my pocket. In the U.S. when someone says I owe $12, I wouldn’t possibly have enough change to pay. I know that we Americans and Canadians like to joke with each other about our currency, and admittedly either way is equally good. But until the U.S. eliminates the dollar bill entirely, dollar and two dollar coins won’t take hold. It’s more cost effective for the government to have those coins, but as an individual, carrying a near weightless bill in my wallet next to all of the other bills is better (at least in my mind) to carrying a heavier coin around. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/45 "2014-11-02T15:57:56Z")
You hit it on the head jtgain. As a Canadian I never use cash, I use debit or credit because I don’t want a bunch of coins to carry around and jangle in my pocket. I do not want a bunch of small bills in my wallet either but coins seal the deal. I don’t have anything against Loonies and Twonies, they are kind of cool coins really (and there are always interesting special editions) I just do not want them in my pocket. There were a few irate old dudes jawing away about them when they first came out of course. Same guys that are pissed off about squirrels on their lawn. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/46 "2014-11-02T16:10:30Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Exactly. Spend as you go. I have exactly one $2 coin in my pocket right now: nothing else. I second that. I live in Europe, where coins are used considerably in cash transactions, not least because the one and two euro coins are of some value - a wallet full of coins actually represents a non-negligible amount of money. Occasionally I hear people complain about how it bulks you wallet, but that’s only if you spend bills without thinking. My approach is to try to either pay the accurate amount with a combination of bills and cash, or to pay an amount that will give me a round sum back. For instance, just today I had to pay 4.08 euros at a bakery. Just handing over a fiver would have given me awkward change in the form of coins. Instead, I paid with a fiver and added eight cents in coins, which gave me a round nice one euro coin back in change. Similar opportunities arise all the time. Just think a little, and you can avoid your wallted from bulking very easily. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/47 "2014-11-02T16:19:45Z")
Right. And the Presidential and Sacajawea dollar coins are cool as well, but as evidenced, nobody freaking wants them. The difference is that your government said that you don’t have a choice: no more one dollar and two dollar bills. In that situation, those old guys bitching about the squirrels on their lawn are forced to adopt and they eventually get over it. I would guess that had Canada tried to implement loonies and toonies without the elimination of the bills, you would have similar results to the U.S. If the U.S. wants a dollar coin, then it needs to eliminate the dollar bill. Change won’t happen without that. And, as of course you now, the U.S. is far more conservative then Canada. We don’t like change and must see a real and tangible benefit before going down that road. That brings to mind an old joke: Reporter interviewing a 106 year old Republican: Sir, you must have seen many changes in your life? 106 Year Old Republican: Yes, and I was was against _every damned one of them!_ ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/48 "2014-11-02T16:22:15Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > I second that. I live in Europe, where coins are used considerably in cash transactions, not least because the one and two euro coins are of some value - a wallet full of coins actually represents a non-negligible amount of money. Occasionally I hear people complain about how it bulks you wallet, but that’s only if you spend bills without thinking. My approach is to try to either pay the accurate amount with a combination of bills and cash, or to pay an amount that will give me a round sum back. For instance, just today I had to pay 4.08 euros at a bakery. Just handing over a fiver would have given me awkward change in the form of coins. Instead, I paid with a fiver and added eight cents in coins, which gave me a round nice one euro coin back in change. Similar opportunities arise all the time. Just think a little, and you can avoid your wallted from bulking very easily. I learn something new every day. In the U.S. and I assume Canada, men don’t carry coins in a wallet, we carry them in our pockets. Women sometimes have a change purse that they carry inside their larger purse, but they largely carry coins in their pockets as well. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/49 "2014-11-02T16:34:54Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I learn something new every day. In the U.S. and I assume Canada, men don’t carry coins in a wallet, we carry them in our pockets. Women sometimes have a change purse that they carry inside their larger purse, but they largely carry coins in their pockets as well. My impression is that in Europe, pretty much everybody carries around a wallet that consists of three parts: A coin compartment, one or several note compartments, and a number of card holders. At some stages it was fashionable to use a money clip for banknotes, and some people carry banknotes and coins loosely in your pocket, but it is my feeling that the predominant practice is the wallet as described. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/50 "2014-11-02T16:49:29Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > My impression is that in Europe, pretty much everybody carries around a wallet that consists of three parts: A coin compartment, one or several note compartments, and a number of card holders. At some stages it was fashionable to use a money clip for banknotes, and some people carry banknotes and coins loosely in your pocket, but it is my feeling that the predominant practice is the wallet as described. Our wallets do not have a coin compartment. It folds either in half or in thirds, and has a place for bills. It typically has a clear display to insert a driver’s license or other form of identification. It also has places to keep credit cards and other rectangular cards like grocery store club memberships. I do, however, have in my possession a change purse that was used by my great-great grandfather who died in the 1940s. Everyone, including me, who sees it for the first time wonders why a man would carry a change purse. But that was probably a product of the times. When you could buy a bacon, egg and toast breakfast, with coffee, for fifty cents, then coins were freely traded. The only time, and I mean the only time, I use coins in the U.S. is when my bill comes to something like $30.07. If I am paying with two twenties, then I might dig in my pocket for a nickel and two pennies so that I get a ten back instead of a bunch of change. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/51 "2014-11-03T06:20:35Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > I live near Erie PA and it is very common to receive Canadian coins as change. When I was a kid whenever I came across them I would through them into a box. I have about $400.00 worth of Canadian quarters, nickles and dimes amassed over 40 years. I don’t know what to do with it? Fish through it to see if you have any coins from pre-1967 (or was it 1968?) That’s about when the coins (except nickels and pennies) stopped including silver in them. Then when the Hunts cornered the silver market, many of the silver coins disappeared from circulation since when silver hit $50/oz. the coin was worth more for its silver content. You may have some collector pieces, worth mildly more than face value. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/52 "2014-11-03T11:22:06Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > The ATM near my office squirts out new US 20 dollar bills, and when using them in the USA I usually end up with 1, 5 and 10 dollar bills in change, so I personally do not often come across anything higher or come across US 2 dollar bills. For me, yes, the new US bills are grey-green and similar in pattern. [Federal Reserve Note - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Note#Post-2004_redesigned_series) This just shows that you’re not paying that much attention. The only bills still in the grey-green are the $1 and $2, and the $2 does not significantly circulate, so it’s really just the $1. The $20 is green, or rather, it’s green on the left and right but yellow in the middle. However, it’s a very distinct shade of green from the old bills, not grey-green at all. The $5 is a bit greenish on the extreme left and right, but the middle is a light purple color. The $10 is not green at all, but rather mostly a peach color. BTW, none of the Wikipedia images accurately reflect the colors of the bills, at least not on my monitor. This could have a number of causes, but most likely it’s because many of the colors on the bills cannot be accurately represented in RGB. This may or may not have been deliberate. But I do know they intentionally made them in pastellish shades with none of them having the same color all the way across the bill. This was an anti-counterfeiting measure, since many printers could not get those colors right. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/53 "2014-11-03T11:29:05Z")
Well, we’ll just have to disagree as to on this one. Good luck with your monitor. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/54 "2014-11-03T12:46:54Z")
I agree with **Muffin**. The new bills have a splash of color here and there, but to my eye, they are still predominately green-gray. I think that the Wikipedia page accurately shows their color. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/55 "2014-11-03T13:13:07Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > See above: I doubt a machine can tell a US nickel from a Kanookel, and it’s possible the machine was simply full-up on nickels. I went back to the same machine as three years ago, to repeat the test. I tried four different Canadian nickels this time – all four were rejected. I then tried two U.S. nickels – both were accepted. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/56 "2014-11-03T14:16:12Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > I went back to the same machine as three years ago, to repeat the test. I tried four different Canadian nickels this time – all four were rejected. I then tried two U.S. nickels – both were accepted. Canadian coins are steel, so it’d be trivial to detect them. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/57 "2014-11-03T14:43:22Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > I went back to the same machine as three years ago, to repeat the test. I tried four different Canadian nickels this time – all four were rejected. I then tried two U.S. nickels – both were accepted. > [@jz78817](#): > > Canadian coins are steel, so it’d be trivial to detect them. Correct. Vending machines are calibrated by weight (along with size) so it’s very easy to reject coins of a different material. Canadian vending machines won’t accept US coins either, although from a cost perspective it would make sense. (Or cents.) ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300/58 "2014-11-03T15:06:10Z")
There are still lots of Canadian coins out there that are 99.9% nickel, I’d guess. That was the composition of five cent coins from '55-'81, ten cent pieces from '68-'77 (only 99% from '78-'99), and 25 cent coins from '68-'99. Nickel, like steel, is nicely magnetic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interchangeability-of-us-and-canadian-coins/602300.md?page=2)