May 7, 1987: $1 coin unveiled by the Royal Canadian Mint

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.

Llew Lawrence, ETS director of operations, lobbied for the dollar coin and hoped transit users would adopt the itfor cash bus fare.

"Those of us that worked and lobbied and worked to convince people, our job is done. It's not going to be a success if people don't use it," Lawrence said.

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.