The RCMP’s recent discovery of thousands of counterfeit toonies has raised concerns about the integrity of Canada’s banking system, through which they circulated with apparent ease.
It also raises a question: Why would anyone counterfeit the lowly toonie? The seized fakes seem to contradict the prevailing wisdom about counterfeiting: Since high denomination notes involve about the same amount of labour and input costs as low-value coins, $50 and $100 bills are far more attractive targets for fakery than toonies.
