# Spy transmitters hidden in Canadian coins? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 10, 2007, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398 "2007-01-10T13:59:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Powder\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/858c86/32.png) [@Powder\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powder_Blue)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/41 "2007-01-12T00:22:47Z")
When is the Canadian Mint making their 2007 limited edition spy transmittor coin collection available? ---
**Author:** ![St\_Ides](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/42 "2007-01-12T00:30:42Z")
[QUOTE=LionelHutz405] Well, that is silly. It’s already easy to track who goes where via the passcard that must be scanned to get through security doors. It makes no sense at all to go to all the trouble and expense to embed a RFID into a coin and place scanners all over the place to accomplish the same thing. [/QUOTE] Not if you’re looking for a security leak. If people are going where they’re not allowed, they’re not going to be using their (own) passcard. The coin’s a stealthy way to do it. If the suspected leak knows how to circumvent all the other security protocols, a secret method such as this may be necessary. If you had the materials beforehand, and were already using a whole bunch of RFID scanners, all you’d need is a few coins and access to a machine shop. Seems like a pretty cheap way to do it with me. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/43 "2007-01-12T00:56:13Z")
[QUOTE=Powder Blue] When is the Canadian Mint making their 2007 limited edition spy transmittor coin collection available? [/QUOTE] Any time now. Watch the change you get from Tim Horton’s. I can just see it: “The subject, who has shown a marked preference for large double-doubles and maple-glazed donuts, entered the facility at…” ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/44 "2007-01-12T01:16:30Z")
Just be sure to give them a wash with your pocket pen particle accelerator before you pocket the change. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/45 "2007-01-14T02:26:25Z")
Update: The US has [retracted](http://www.thestar.com/News/article/170886) its claims of spy transmitters hidden in Canadian coins. However: > [@](#): > > Hollowed-out coins have long been used in the intelligence world to conceal messages and microfilm. > > But the prospect of embedding a transmitter in a coin struck some as technologically far-fetched and rather dubious in that the holder might promptly spend the device, ending the surveillance operation. Interesting. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2007, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/46 "2007-01-14T05:57:37Z")
Fucking Bolivians. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/47 "2007-01-19T14:48:47Z")
Another story about the US retracting the claim about spy devices in Canadian coins: [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070118/spycoins\_070118/20070118](http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070118/spycoins_070118/20070118) ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/48 "2007-01-20T02:46:23Z")
The hollow dollar coin reminded me of the U.S. spy dollar coins that have the little cyanide pill in them. (Why the hell can’t I find a link to anything that I’m looking for today…) ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/49 "2007-05-07T15:26:48Z")
[Here is a link to a story today in USA Today stating that the mysterious quarters were actually Canadian Poppy Quarters.](http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-05-07-spy-coin-canada_N.htm?csp=15) As suspected, this was all bogus crap, and someone ran with it when they should have walked straight to the trash can. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/50 "2007-05-07T15:49:39Z")
Here’s a link to Yahoo, with a picture of the coin: [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070507/ap\_on\_go\_ot/spy\_coins](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070507/ap_on_go_ot/spy_coins) Until I saw **DSYoung** ’s post I had no idea that this is the thing we discussed earlier (and justifies, I think, this zombie thread). I cannot _believe_ that this confused people in our government – doesn’t anybody talk to folks in Canada? Or at the Smithsonian’s numismatics bunch? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/51 "2007-05-07T16:06:19Z")
See? They _were_ getting them at Tim Horton’s! 🙂 (Tim Horton’s distributed the poppy coins in 2004.) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/52 "2007-05-07T16:09:16Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I cannot _believe_ that this confused people in our government [/QUOTE] Apparently Pat Robertson supplies our government with graduates from his espionage academy as well as from his law school. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/53 "2007-05-07T16:12:03Z")
_Secret agent man Secret agent man Odds are he won’t have change for a dollar…_ ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/54 "2007-05-07T16:41:57Z")
Tim Horton’s is Canada’s version of Starbucks–you just _know_ they’re a front to take over the world… ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/55 "2007-05-07T16:48:41Z")
I could have sworn that I had read something about the large number of Chinese spies in Canada. I am sure that these 2 stories are related. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/56 "2007-05-07T16:50:41Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I cannot _believe_ that this confused people in our government – doesn’t anybody talk to folks in Canada? Or at the Smithsonian’s numismatics bunch? [/QUOTE] They were “contractors.” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/57 "2007-05-07T17:23:40Z")
[CNN.com](http://CNN.com)’s story, much ado about nothing: [http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/05/07/canadian.coin.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/05/07/canadian.coin.ap/index.html) And we wonder why Uncle Sam’s brainiacs thought Saddam had WMDs… ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/58 "2007-05-07T18:45:19Z")
[QUOTE=Kythereia] Tim Horton’s is Canada’s version of Starbucks–you just _know_ they’re a front to take over the world… [/QUOTE] Especially since Tim Horton’s coffee is actually drinkable as plain ol’ coffee without having to resort to various flavour-a-ccinos. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/59 "2007-05-07T19:00:22Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] [CNN.com](http://CNN.com)’s story, much ado about nothing: [http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/05/07/canadian.coin.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/05/07/canadian.coin.ap/index.html) [/QUOTE] These clowns, it says in the article, apparently believed they were able to recognize nanotechnology _with the naked eye._ ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398/60 "2007-05-11T15:33:57Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] These clowns, it says in the article, apparently believed they were able to recognize nanotechnology _with the naked eye._ [/QUOTE] If you want to really hide something then in plain sight is your best bet. Apparently those dastardly Bolivians have hit on the totally cunning idea of concealing nano-tachnology by making it really, really big. Thank God we in the Free World have the CIA to protect us against swarthy evil doers no matter what continent they hail from. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-transmitters-hidden-in-canadian-coins/387398.md?page=2)