First there was the $1 Loonie, then the $2 Toonie, now Canada has the $5 Woodie

I knew about the $1 Loonie and $2 Toonie, but I somehow missed the release of the $5 Woodie.

If you missed it too, especially those of you collecting Canadian coins, check out this short video (Link). And while your there, check out some of their other "Talking to American" videos, some are pretty funny.

And before you leave me comments, yes, I know the $5 Woodie coin was a joke. The videos are basically a Canadian version of Jay Leno's "Street Walk" except that the answers are actually a joke.

"Like a gold coin on a dunghill"

As a member of Toastmasters (toastmasters.org), I am always on the lookout for metaphors that I can use when giving speeches. As a numismatist, I like when those metaphors include references to coins. So I really enjoyed the metaphor I came across while reading an article in the UK's Daily Mail:

"The brief flash of truth shone out like a gold coin on a dunghill."

Although the article has nothing to do with numismatics, the metaphor is one that I'm sure I'll find a use for in the future. Here's a link to the article if you are interested: Link

Awhile back I wrote an article about a US Mint press release that stated how the public had accepted the new "Golden dollar." One of the quotes from that press release stated:

"Especially gratifying is what we are hearing from the American people. ... it is clear that we have exceeded all expectations for the coin's acceptance by the public."

Today, I read another press release, this one released 8 years later, about how the US Mint is hiring an ad agency, with a first year budget as high as $2.4 million, to help promote circulation of the Presidential dollars.

I don't know about you, but to me, this seems like a waste of taxpayer Presidential dollars. You would think after 8 years, the US Mint (and Congress) would have acknowledged that a dollar coin will never successfully circulate as long as a dollar bill co-exists with it.

So for what it's worth, I will give a little free advice on how to save taxpayers $2.4 million dollars immediately, save the taxpayers billions of dollars over the long run, and get the dollar coin to circulate to boot: STOP PRINTING DOLLAR BILLS!