May 7, 1987: $1 coin unveiled by the Royal Canadian Mint
Edmonton transit says moving from bills to coins will save $400,000
The $1 coin is met with excitement by transit operators in Edmonton, but vending machine operators saw the coin as an added expense.
For Edmonton Transit Service, the loonie, as it became known, meant eventually not having to sort through paper dollars, translatinginto $400,000 in savings.
However vending machine operators were less enthused, estimating thecost of retrofitting each of their machines at$300.
The clock began ticking on the paper buck with the last bill rollingoff the press on April 20, 1989.
In the video,CBC's Harry Nuttall shows Edmontonians what the dollar coin will mean to them, including a hands-on change demonstration in front of a cigarette machine.