A Not-So-Phony $3 Bill…

The Haweater $3 Bill
The Haweater $3 Bill
Taken February 11, 2013 with Samsung Galaxy S3

When Ruby ran a restaurant on The Manitoulin, the Tourist Association put out “The Haweater 3-Dollar Bill”. It was valid currency in most businesses, as well as every bank and credit union on the island.

She doesn’t think it’s still in circulation now, but I think it was a really cool idea to keep visitors coming back. Ruby says it was mostly the tourists that actually used the bill for currency (and most she had to convince that yes, it really was a valid currency). She thinks most of the tourists likely took it home as a souvenir, rather than spend it. Business owners put any they took in promptly into their deposit bags, and the locals never bothered to use it much, if at all.

Ruby used to sell them at her establishment, and of course I was dumb enough to ask how much she charged for it…

“Now, what do you imagine I might charge for a 3-dollar bill..?!”

Sarcasm is not lost on my Ruby…

I would really love to know if I could spend one of these on Manitoulin Island now, even if they’re not in circulation any longer. There’s only one way to find out – but Ruby won’t give her 3-dollar bill up. No way. No how.

She let me take a photo, and then she took it away again. 🙁

Random Song-for-the-Day: “Not the Doctor” – Alanis Morrisette

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