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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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New Acquisitions

By: Paul S. Berry


June 23, 2015

Loan and Building Society Share Certificates

The Canadian financial system of today is diverse; it includes participants ranging from institutions like the Bank of Canada, chartered banks and credit unions, to markets and payment systems. A little known but once prolific system member was loan and building societies. These firms made loans for the construction or purchase of property against mortgages as collateral. They also held savings accounts for clients. Originating in Eastern Canada in the 1840s, loan and building societies gradually spread across the nation so that by 1905 there were 84 such firms in 5 provinces: British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec and Nova Scotia. Along with insurance and trust companies, they dominated mortgage lending until 1954 when Canadian banks were allowed to loan money on real estate. Recently, the National Currency Collection had the good fortune to acquire share certificates from three such companies in Toronto. Their stories follow…

Certificate

The Freehold, Loan and Savings Co. share certificate, Toronto, 1881: 17 shares totaling $1700.00. (NCC 2014.51.1)

Located at the corner of Church and Court Streets, later at Adelaide and Victoria and finally Bay Street, The Freehold, Loan and Savings Company started business in 1859. It was a public company with a branch office in Winnipeg and a capital of $839,680 in 1885. In 1900, the company merged with several other firms to become the Canada Permanent Mortgage Corporation.

Certificate

The London & Canadian Loan & Agency Co. share certificate: 225 shares. “Fourteen percent whereof amounting to the sum of fifteen hundred and seventy five dollars.” (NCC 2014.52.2)

The London & Canadian Loan & Agency Company started business in 1873. Located at 44 King Street and later on Bay Street, by 1885 it had a paid up capital of $560,000. By 1901, this number had increased to $1,000,000. The President, Sir W. P. Howland, was a well-known Toronto businessman and politician. He served as Minister of Inland Revenue from 1867–1868 when he was appointed lieutenant governor of Ontario. In 1921, the company was taken over by the Canada Permanent Mortgage Corporation.

Certificate

The Union, Loan & Savings Co. share certificate, Toronto, 1897: 9 shares at $50 per share. (NCC 2014.52.3)

The Union, Loan &Savings Company was founded in 1863. During the 1870s its head office was located on Toronto Street beside the Masonic Hall. In 1900, it merged with the Building and Loan Association to become the Toronto Mortgage Company.

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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

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