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    Collage, photo of wild west street, old bank notes, old counterfeiting brochure.

    Security is in the bank note

    Security printing is a game of anticipating and responding to criminal threats. Counterfeiting is a game of anticipating and responding to bank note design. This cat and mouse relationship affects every aspect of a bank note.

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    Needs or wants? That is the question!

    Do you need it, or do you want it? That’s an important question to ask before buying anything. This activity is designed to teach kids how to prioritize their needs and wants, and how to make informed choices when shopping.

    Price check: Inflation in Canada

    All about inflation: what it is, what it means and how it's measured. Students will learn how the consumer price index is calculated and create their own student price index to measure the prices that matter most to them.

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The Museum will be closed on Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30 for maintenance.
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Notes From the Collection: Recent Acquisitions

By: Paul S. Berry


February 27, 2014

The Museum is closed but the curators go shopping

Before the Museum closed, and the Collection moved to Gatineau, the curators regularly hosted a show and tell session for staff to see new acquisitions. With the help of the Museum’s new blog, that tradition will continue; only now, you too will be able to see and learn about some of the brilliant new stars in the Collection. Get out your sunglasses!

Command Coins of the Canadian Armed Forces

General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff for the Canadian Armed Forces, recently honoured the National Currency Collection with a gift of 10 command coins from senior commanders of the armed forces. Originally these objects were used to identify members of a specific unit. In Canada they have now taken on a more ceremonial role and are given to individuals for distinguished service or to defence partners in other countries as a sign of respect. Despite their name, command coins are not money, but serve as a testament to the valuable contribution of Canadian command and service personnel.

Dominion of Canada, Specimen registered bond, $5000, August 1915

The Dominion government issued bonds during WWI to finance Canada’s war effort. The issue of August 2, 1915 was a foreign issue, the Dominion government looking to the U.K. and the U.S.A. for financing. It was floated in the U.S. and was payable in Canadian gold coins at the Bank of Montreal in Montréal or in U.S. gold coin at their agency in New York City. The issue consisted of bonds scheduled to mature in 20 years and the rate of interest was 5%.

Consolidated Bank of Canada, $4 note, 1876, overprinted Galt

The Consolidated Bank of Canada was formed by the union of The Royal Canadian Bank in Toronto and Montréal’s City Bank in 1876. It issued notes of six denominations ranging from $4 to $100. Colourful overprints designating the city of issue are found on many notes. Banks in this period were only required to redeem notes at full face value at two places: the issuing branch and at head office. This is the only known example of an overprint for Galt, Ontario appearing on a Consolidated Bank $4 note.

La Rose Mines Limited., stock certificate, 10 shares, 1918

In the fall of 1903, railway workers in the vicinity of Cobalt, Ontario unearthed one of Canada’s largest deposits of silver ore. This discovery quickly led to a mining frenzy. Cobalt was called the El Dorado of the north and by 1910, millions of dollars of silver was being shipped out of the region. La Rose Mines was one of the first mines in operation. It was named after Fred La Rose, a blacksmith from Hull, Québec, who had staked one of the area’s original claims. La Rose, however, sold his interests early to a group including the Timmins brothers, merchants from Mattawa, after whom the city of Timmins was later named.

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Content type(s): Blog posts

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The Museum Blog

March 22, 2023

Security is in the bank note

By: Graham Iddon


Collage, photo of wild west street, old bank notes, old counterfeiting brochure.
Security printing is a game of anticipating and responding to criminal threats. Counterfeiting is a game of anticipating and responding to bank note design. This cat and mouse relationship affects every aspect of a bank note.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy, Financial literacy Grade level(s): Grade 07 / Secondary 1, Grade 08 / Secondary 2, Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
February 2, 2023

Teaching art with currency

By: Adam Young


From design to final product, bank notes and coins can be used to explore and teach art, media and process.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Arts, Education Grade level(s): Grade 05, Grade 06, Grade 07 / Secondary 1, Grade 08 / Secondary 2, Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
January 20, 2023

New Acquisitions—2022 Edition

By: David Bergeron, Krista Broeckx


It’s a new year—the perfect time to look back at some notable artifacts the Museum added to the National Currency collection from 2022. Each object has a unique story to tell about Canada’s monetary and economic history.
Content type(s): Blog posts
December 6, 2022

Money: it’s a question of trust

By: Graham Iddon


Photo collage, parking meter, old bank notes and an early bank card.
The dollars and cents we use wouldn’t be worth anything to anybody if we didn’t have confidence in it. No matter if it’s gold or digits on a hard drive, public trust is the secret ingredient in a successful currency.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy
November 14, 2022

The day Winnipeg was invaded

By: David Bergeron


People on the street were randomly stopped and searched, and some were even arrested and imprisoned in an internment camp. Even German marks replaced Canadian currency in circulation—in the form of If Day propaganda notes.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): History Grade level(s): Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
October 18, 2022

Positive notes

By: Krista Broeckx


The imagery on the Bank of Canada’s 1935 note series depicts the country’s rich industrial history.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): History
June 16, 2022

Army bills: Funding the War of 1812

By: David Bergeron, Graham Iddon


In 1812, British North America had no banks and little currency. With the prospect of war drying up supplies of coins, the government of Lower Canada decided to issue legal tender notes called “army bills” to pay for troops and supplies.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy, History
May 5, 2022

Between tradition and technology

By: Graham Iddon


Collage, man at an easel, paintings of birds and a goose illustration with comments written on it.
What was proposed was a complete about-face from the philosophy behind recent security printing. If photocopiers could easily deal with the colours and designs of the current series, then the next series should be bold and simple.
Content type(s): Blog posts
April 21, 2022

Teaching the green economy

By: Adam Young


From windmills and solar panels to electric cars, signs of the green economy are all around us. Check out our resources for how to teach about the green economy.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Business and careers, Economy, Geography, Science, Social studies Grade level(s): Grade 07 / Secondary 1, Grade 08 / Secondary 2, Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP

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K1A 0G9, CANADA
613‑782‑8914

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