[RedHot25]

Alrighty then....

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories

Canada's harmless poppy quarter has given some suspicious U.S. army contractors red faces after it was revealed they filed espionage accounts on the world's first coloured coin.

....

The contractors described the suspicious coins as "anomalous'' and "filled with something man-made that looked like nano-technology,'' some once-secret U.S. government reports and emails said.
"It did not appear to be electronic (analog) in nature or have a power source,'' one U.S. contractor wrote after he found 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.''
The technology they referred to was actually a protective coating the Royal Canadian Mint applied to the coins to ensure the poppy's red colour couldn't be removed.

....

"I thought the whole thing was preposterous, to think you could tag an individual with a coin and think they wouldn't give it away or spend it,'' H. Keith Melton, a leading U.S. intelligence historian, said.
However, Melton said the army contractors were only doing their jobs when they reported their suspicious findings.
"You want contractors or any government personnel to report anything suspicious,'' he said.

....

The coins were never actually examined by the Defence Security Service.
"We know where we made the mistake,'' Cindy McGovern, a Defence Security Service spokesperson, said.
"The information wasn't properly vetted. While these coins aroused suspicion, there ultimately was nothing there.''