Canadian versus Australian Coins
By theprofessionalhobo ~ August 6th, 2009. Filed under: Australia, Toronto (still/again).
Here is a conversation I had with an Aussie mate the other day:
Me: “Do you have a nickel?”
Aussie Mate: “A what?”
Me: “A nickel”.
Aussie Mate: “A what?”
Me: “Oh for god’s sake. A nickel! You know – a five-cent piece!”
Aussie Mate: “OH! A five-cent piece!” (hands over said currency)
Me: “Why? What do you call five-cent pieces here in Australia?”
Aussie Mate: (pause). “Um…five-cent pieces”.
Of course.
I have to give Australians credit for their penchant for practicality.
But this in turn, sparked a comparison of our respective Canadian and Australian coins, and what they are called. I realized, in turn, that we Canadians are a little….well…loony.
Here is a breakdown of our respective coin denominations and names:
AUSTRALIA
Five-Cent Piece (not shown here)
Ten-Cent Piece
Twenty-Cent Piece
Fifty-Cent Piece (not shown here)
One Dollar Coin
Two Dollar Coin
And in the name of practicality, these coins are all named just what they are. This leaves little to the imagination. Canadians, on the other hand, like to confuse and befuddle:
CANADA
Penny – one-cent piece (unlike Australia, we still have the penny)
Nickel – five-cent piece
Dime – ten-cent piece
Quarter – 25-cent piece
Loonie (yes, you read it right) – dollar coin
Toonie (no really, I’m serious) – two dollar coin
I remember when we introduced the dollar coin in Canada many years ago, there was a big deal made of what to name it, the process calling for national input and even votes. Because of Canada’s famous loon (a gorgeous water bird with a captivating call), “Loonie” seemed to fit.
And due to a combination of our lack of imagination and unique sense of humour, it only made sense to call our ensuing two-dollar coin a Toonie.
Rick Mercer is a Canadian political satirist who did a series called “Talking To Americans.” In it, he approached Americans (usually in small towns in states that are far away from the Canadian border, and that have little to do with their northern neighbours), and tell them outlandish stories about Canada (like that our parliament buildings are made of ice – because we do live in igloos after all – and that because of global warming our government is melting). And more often than not, his interviewees actually believed the stories.
The one story they DIDN’T believe (and how can you blame them), is that we call our one-dollar coin a Loonie.
I love Canada. How can you not? I mean, really.
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August 7th, 2009 at 1:23 am
Isn’t it spelled Two-nie?
My husband and I are wading in to the world of over-seas travel and I probably needed the reminder about currency names.
August 7th, 2009 at 3:02 am
@Christy – It could well be the Twonie. It just didn’t look right to me on paper, so I opted for Toonie. Heck – with a name like that, I’m not sure it really matters! (I love being Canadian).
August 7th, 2009 at 4:25 am
The important thing to remember about the loonie is it was originally supposed to be voyagers on it’s face, not a loon. But the master dies were lost during transport and a completely different design had to be created.
Perhaps it’s that courier mishap that helped along the idea of “loonie.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_1_dollar_coin
August 7th, 2009 at 5:07 am
Having grown up in a border town, we drove over to the US quite a bit. I remember the first time I paid the bridge toll with a loonie – the toll booth guy called it the “Brain Mulooney” with a big smile on his face… see what he did there? Brian.. Mulroney… loonie… dollar coins… crazy canucks…
And we gotta get rid of our “penny” – it’s just silly.
August 9th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Nope, I am pretty sure that it is spelled a toonie that way it looks more like a loonie. I love our currency. Only in Canada would we call our two dollar piece a toonie. Great post. I would find saying 5 cent piece, 10 cent piece etc. very long. It is too hard for me. I like things short and sweet!
August 9th, 2009 at 1:01 am
@Dave & Deb: Ditto!
August 9th, 2009 at 2:29 am
What a fun post! I’ve spent a fair bit of time in Oz but that particular conversation never came up. I guess because beautiful Sudbury and its massive nickle mines are also part of our heritage we just had to call 5C a nickle, eh?
By the way, Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” really blew my mind with his riff on the implications of the names different cultures assign to numbers. He could probably do a good job on this money stuff.
Thanks for a good Saturday morning chuckle.
Gwen McCauley
August 9th, 2009 at 3:41 am
Try comparing Canadian currency with Mexican. It will make more cents then.
August 9th, 2009 at 6:16 am
@getalife – “…it will make more CENTS then…” ha ha! No pun intended, huh? (smiles)
August 9th, 2009 at 6:17 am
@Gwen – Thanks! One of my favourite things about travel (and slow travel at that) are celebrating the little differences that exist between cultures. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
August 11th, 2009 at 8:41 am
While as an Australian, I still get nickels and dimes confused when visiting North America, I love the idea that your dollar coins are called loonies and toonies. I think that says a lot about the relaxed nature of Canadians. Australia ditched 1c and 2c pieces some years ago and it went seamlessly – noone misses them.
August 11th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
@Mark H – Me too! I never realized how relaxed Canadians are about these things until I went away and saw Canada through new eyes. I love it!
August 13th, 2009 at 2:41 am
haha! Very funny! Well done with this post – it’s nice to read a travel blog that’s a bit different. Good stuff,
Al
August 14th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I love the fact they’ve done away with the penny. Although, I’ve often thought of documenting all the rounding up/down in all my transactions and find out once and for all…who really comes out on top? Does it really average out? Or am I spending more than I should (or getting a bargain)?
@MarkH – I never knew there was a 2 cent piece…now that’s just getting ridiculous!
One thing that took some time to get used to is the 50 cent pieces. My god they are HUGE! Shouldn’t the size/weight of the coin be proportional to the denomination? The $2 coin is smaller than the 50 cent piece and the $1 coin.
Also, I much prefer the “quarter” (25 cents to you Aussies) to the 20 cent piece. Quarter is so handy to say. What do you call a 20 cent piece? A “fifth”? Do you have a “fifth” I can borrow? Weird
I have to admit though, the Aussie bills are way better than the Canuck bills. Smaller and more robust.
August 14th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
@Carlo – I too like the Aussie bills (they’re colourful, like Canadian bills) – and they’re plastic, so getting accidentally thrown in the wash isn’t a big deal!
But I don’t like that the bills are different sizes….makes for a messy wallet! (not that I have many bills in my wallet at any time….sigh…the life of a Professional Hobo…) *smiles*
August 30th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Well that’s one way to deal with politicians and the government, if you don’t like it, burn the ice and it will all melt away, no more government, got to love it.
I have to say you Canuck’s (that’s what you guys call yourself right?) do have some pretty interesting coins and interesting names for sure, I like it.
But I think I’ll stick with our colourful unwashable, like Carlo mentioned, notes. *grin*
Though with you still using the pennies, do you actually ever spend them or do they sit away somewhere in the back of the cupboard, I don’t think I would bother with them.
August 31st, 2009 at 10:04 am
@Kaitlin – Yes, pennies still get used. They also tend to migrate to jars and utility drawers, and will occasionally be wrapped up and exchanged at the bank (for the very industrious and less lazy of us).
I think that using pennies just requires a more concentrated effort to provide exact change (or at least spend the pennies)…at least it does for me.