beware the poppy-quarter - our way of spying on the US
WASHINGTON – The stunning explanation behind the U.S. government’s sensational warnings about mysterious Canadian spy coins is the harmless poppy quarter.
The world’s first colourized coins were so unfamiliar to suspicious U.S. army contractors travelling in Canada that they filed confidential espionage accounts about them.
The confidential accounts led to a sensational warning from the Defense Security Service, an agency of the U.S. defence department, that mysterious coins with radio frequency transmitters were found planted on U.S. contractors with classified security clearances on at least three separate occasions between October 2005 and January 2006. Worried contractors described the coins as “filled with something man-made that looked like nano-technology,” according to once-classified U.S. government reports and e-mails.
The supposed nano-technology on the coin actually was a protective coating the Royal Canadian Mint applied to prevent the poppy’s red colour from rubbing off. The mint produced nearly 30 million such quarters in 2004 commemorating Canada’s 117,000 war dead.
“It did not appear to be electronic (analog) in nature or have a power source,” wrote one U.S. contractor, who discovered the coin in the cup holder of a rental car. “Under high power microscope, it appeared to be complex consisting of several layers of clear, but different material, with a wire-like mesh suspended on top.”
One contractor believed someone had placed two of the quarters in an outer coat pocket after it had been emptied hours earlier.
The defence department subsequently acknowledged it could never substantiate the espionage warning, but until now it has never disclosed the details behind the episode.
I read this in the morning paper, too. Hilarious :lol:
SS
I knew there was a reason why I always get canadian pennies … they’re spying on me
@AJGundam:
I knew there was a reason why I always get canadian pennies … they’re spying on me
Wow, Canadian pennies are about as useful as a yen - pretty much worthless - and I live in Canada. Imagine how useful they must be for you, living in the US!!!
Yeah … they are an annoyance
@AJGundam:
I knew there was a reason why I always get canadian pennies … they’re spying on me
Wow, Canadian pennies are about as useful as a yen - pretty much worthless - and I live in Canada. Imagine how useful they must be for you, living in the US!!!
Maybe not useful, but fun to collect. Also, most of the time people spend Canadian coins the same as US coins - and I’m not pulling your leg. You may only see once every few weeks, but a Canadian “nickel” will wind up with US ones, only decirculating if they hit a bank.
is there a source to check the whole article? (and repost it on various forums) ? :evil:
@AJGundam:
I knew there was a reason why I always get canadian pennies … they’re spying on me
Wow, Canadian pennies are about as useful as a yen - pretty much worthless - and I live in Canada. Imagine how useful they must be for you, living in the US!!!
Maybe not useful, but fun to collect. Also, most of the time people spend Canadian coins the same as US coins - and I’m not pulling your leg. You may only see once every few weeks, but a Canadian “nickel” will wind up with US ones, only decirculating if they hit a bank.
if your a cashier and not paying attention they’re easy to confuse.
http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/v/va/vancanjay/449774_canadian_pennies.jpg
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/07/money/image/penny.jpg
Funny stuff, you gotta admit though thats a crazy looking quarter…
Funny stuff, you gotta admit though thats a crazy looking quarter…
dude - its a POPPY!!!
commemorating the lives and deaths of our soldiers.
i don’t think there’s a Canadian diabolical enough to abuse this symbol this way.
@cystic:
Funny stuff, you gotta admit though thats a crazy looking quarter…
dude - its a POPPY!!!
commemorating the lives and deaths of our soldiers.
i don’t think there’s a Canadian diabolical enough to abuse this symbol this way.
How about a French Canadian O_o
it would be fun if the canadian inteligence service did a “Spy” coin out of it now. :evil:
@cystic:
Funny stuff, you gotta admit though thats a crazy looking quarter…
dude - its a POPPY!!!
commemorating the lives and deaths of our soldiers.
i don’t think there’s a Canadian diabolical enough to abuse this symbol this way.
Yeah, and we know what poppies can do. You filthy addicts. :wink:
Just in case anyone hasn’t seen the spy coin yet:
Just in case anyone hasn’t seen the spy coin yet:
That coin says 2004…I think.
So it’s been out for ~3 years, and this is just now coming out?!?
I’m sorry you have such lousy neighbors, Canada.
@cystic:
Funny stuff, you gotta admit though thats a crazy looking quarter…
dude - its a POPPY!!!
commemorating the lives and deaths of our soldiers.Â
i don’t think there’s a Canadian diabolical enough to abuse this symbol this way.
I see that it’s a poppy, I’m just saying it’s a pretty unusual looking coin, it looks that way in pics anyway. Maybe if I had a Canadia friend he would send me one, so I could give a more objective oppinion… :wink:
I don’t know about other Canadians, but I think I’ve only seen about 3 of these over the years. Maybe if I went to Timmie’s more…
@cystic:
Funny stuff, you gotta admit though thats a crazy looking quarter…
dude - its a POPPY!!!
commemorating the lives and deaths of our soldiers.Â
i don’t think there’s a Canadian diabolical enough to abuse this symbol this way.I see that it’s a poppy, I’m just saying it’s a pretty unusual looking coin, it looks that way in pics anyway. Maybe if I had a Canadia friend he would send me one, so I could give a more objective oppinion… :wink:
i’ll try to hang on to one for you.
Fear and loathing in Canada.
But that’s just the half of it.
Since I worked for a defense contractor and am familiar with security clearance procedures I know that certain medications you may be taking for diagnosed illnesses can reflect poorly on your clearance status or application, especially now that it’s post 9/11, so if there are any contractor employees suffering from paranoia or other mental illnesses, they would probably never admit it or even accept treatment for fear of losing their clearance. I assume this would also apply to military technicians and high ranking officers as well. The mentally ill working in the name of US defense. Now that is truly scary.
