Bugged Canadian Coins?

tundra_man writes "CBC has an article about RFID type devices in Canadian coins found on US Contractors. From the article: 'Canadian coins containing tiny transmitters have mysteriously turned up in the pockets of at least three American contractors who visited Canada, says a branch of the U.S. Department of Defense.' The report did not indicate what kinds of coins were involved."

Comments

Perhaps this is overblown?

[8127972]

At least this Globe and Mail report thinks so:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20070110.wspycoin0110/BNStory/National/home

Re:RFID chips

[MyNymWasTaken]

No argument, here. However, the Canadian Dollar is close to reaching parity with the US Dollar.

Canadian Dollar to U.S. Dollar Exchange Rate

Re:hmm

[camperdave]

That is a commemorative coin marking the 60th anniversary of D-Day, and the 90th anniversary of WWI. The poppy became the symbol of remembrance of our war dead through the poem In Flander's Fields, written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian battlefield doctor in World War One.

Re:There's not a chance that this is real.

[JazzHarper]

RFID does not require a processor or battery. Consumer RFID devices for
implantation in animals (Pet-ID, HomeAgain) are about the size of a grain
of rice.

Re:Motive???

[archen]

Although it doesn't say what kind of coin was involved, I would guess it's almost certainly the two dollar coin. Mainly because I'd guess it's easy to pop out the center part of it that is a different metal. Even if you put plastic in there, the metal frame around it would make it feel pretty similar to a normal coin. There is also an advantage that when you cross the border you can't unload $1 and $2 coins. You can try to pawn off the small change to people who aren't paying attention (a problem in itself for northern states), but no one is going to take the big change - some won't take American dollar coins for that matter. Anyway that means they are more likely to keep the coin at least until they return to Canada.

Also it's better if vending machines reject the coin. If you can't spend it in a soda machine you're going to just keep the coin, and probably try another.

Re:Motive???

[UncleTogie]

"...to homeless people who you know will spend it on drugs..."

That's funny, Spanky... when *I* was homeless I was FAR more interested in staying fed, getting a job, and getting back to where I was now. So were most of the guys at the shelter.

My question: Did you have a big helping of WhiteBreadNess this morning, or do you watch too much cable?

...and to stay ontopic, I have to ask: While everyone here is usin' RFID tags as a reference, the article states that

As a result, the type of transmitter in play -- and its ultimate purpose -- remain a mystery. However, tiny tracking tags, known as RFIDs, are commonly placed in everything from clothing to key chains to help retailers track inventory.

Assuming you're not limited to RFID limits, in theory how much power could one of these spit out? What distance could they be tracked from?