Issuing Policies for Salt Spring Dollars
Our initial issue ($$1, $$2 and $$5 bills) was printed on Salt Spring Island. Our issues of the $$10, $$20, $$50 and $$100 bills were printed at Adler Tech, International in Toronto. In essence, Adler Tech acted as our mint for all paper currency, creating very high-security bills with more built-in anti-counterfeiting tools than even Canadian or US dollars have. In early 2008 we secured an agreement with Adler Tech which will now allow all of our new issues to be entirely printed on Salt Spring, using the same state-of-the-art security measures.
Our $$50 1/2 ounce silver coin is minted at the Lasqueti Mint on Lasqueti Island, BC.
The minted Salt Spring Dollars are transferred to a secure bank vault for storage before they're issued. From there, the Salt Spring Dollars are sold (or issued) into circulation in exchange for Canadian dollars through various commercial outlets in the community (the Chamber of Commerce, banks, stores, etc.)
The Canadian dollars are then deposited into special trust accounts that are used as the reserve funds for the Salt Spring Dollars. The Canadian dollars in the reserve fund immediately begin collecting interest.
When someone wants to deposit a Salt Spring Dollar into their Canadian dollar bank account, the SS IMF reserve fund account is debited, and the Salt Spring Dollar is returned to the SS IMF.
This means that Islanders and tourists can buy food, clothes and gas with Salt Spring Dollars while merchants are assured that they in turn can exchange Salt Spring Dollars back into Canadian dollars when they want to.
Legally, Salt Spring Island Dollars are considered gift certificates, as they meet all four of Revenue Canada's requirements. (See Revenue Canada P-202 Gift Certificates.) This means, among other consequences, that you do not pay sales tax when you buy Salt Spring Dollars, although you pay the customary PST and GST when you buy goods with Salt Spring Dollars, just as you would if you paid with Canadian dollars.
Salt Spring $$50 1/2 ounce silver coin
Minted at the Lasqueti Mint