Skip to content
  • FR
FR
  • About us
    Building, illuminated glass towers on either side of an old, square, stone building.

    About us

    We're here to help you understand what the Bank of Canada does and how it matters to you.

    About the Bank of Canada

    Find out what the Bank does, who runs the Bank and how it is separate from the political process.

    Connect with us

    We'd love to hear from you! Contact us by email, phone or mail—or join us on social media.

  • Visit

    Visit

    • Plan your visit
    • Accessibility and special needs
    • Code of conduct
    • COVID-19 protocols

    Plan your visit

    Here's what you need to know, how to make the most of your visit and where to find us.

    Luck and Lore

    Discover the spiritual, the ceremonial, the superstitious uses we have for money and the surprising roots of some very familiar traditions.

  • Explore

    Exhibitions

    • Permanent exhibition
    • Special exhibitions
    • Travelling exhibitions
    • Past exhibitions

    Blog

    Collection

    • About the Collection
    • Collection Services
    • Canadian Bank Notes Series
    • Search the Collection

    Army bills: Funding the War of 1812

    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.

  • Learn

    Learn

    • Activities and games
    • Education blog
    • External resources
    • Lesson plans
    • School programs
    • Video discussion guides

    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.

    Teaching the green economy

    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.

  • Home
  • The Museum Blog

Swindle! Canadian Phantom Banks

By: Graham Iddon


August 5, 2015

Behind the scenes of our new temporary exhibition

June. The glorious drift from spring into summer. The mild, star-filled nights. The morning serenade of cheerful birdsong. What you may really be thinking is: “Ah, it’s the time of year when the Bank of Canada Museum installs a new temporary exhibit at the Canadian Museum of History.”

You would be correct, although possibly a little odd.

As I mentioned in our blog reviewing the CMH exhibition 1867 Rebellion & Confederation, our upcoming temporary exhibit is about what are called “phantom banks”. I’m not talking about anything supernatural but merely the nefarious activities of hucksters who printed bank notes that didn’t represent a real bank. Before the advent of the Bank of Canada, Canadian banks issued most of our paper money and those banks were supposed to have enough gold and silver coinage (specie) in their vaults to provide intrinsic value for the majority of those bills. In 1837, collapsing US real estate and export markets, and insufficient specie in eastern banks caused economic chaos on both sides of the border. Banks ceased to issue coins in exchange for bank notes and paper money reigned in the marketplace—a perfect time to introduce bogus bank notes to an uninformed and cash-hungry population.

Cartoon

E.W. Clay illustrated the effects of the 1837 financial crisis on the working class. President Jackson, whom he blames, is the top hat and glasses in the sky.

To interpret this subject, one of the methods we chose involved creating several photographic tableaux to help tell the story of one particular phantom bank—The Bank of Ottawa. In exchange for pizza and a day out of the office, a half-dozen Bank employees were persuaded to dress up in period costumes and re‑enact three key moments from the history of this shady “bank”. Upper Canada Village kindly provided us with shooting locations and costumes. Ottawa’s Bytown Museum also leant us a pile of period costumes, of which one was a perfect fit for our smaller crook. However, the confusing variety of buttons meant that for the first time in several decades, he needed help doing up his trousers.

Man in costume

A phantom banker has his neckwear adjusted.

Pants

The wrong way to do up your early 19th century “fall front” trousers.

3 men

Criminals were better dressed back then—and handsomer.

The tableaux could not be shot in single exposures. To create both a panoramic image and a sufficiently big digital file size, the shots were assembled from multiple exposures. The photographer released the shutter, then swung the camera a few degrees and released the shutter again, moving across the scene by increments until the entire view was captured (three to six frames). It meant everybody had to keep still for a few very long moments—a task not made any easier by the chill March air drifting through the open door. Photo stitch software was later used to assemble the images seamlessly. Historical details, sepia tones and, in one case, an entire wall of clapboard needed to be digitally added to the images to enhance authenticity. The results are just great.

Stacks of fake money

Is it counterfeiting if we reproduce 180 year-old bogus bank notes? Props from the first tableau.

Print shop

The Upper Canada Village print shop, scene of tableau 2.

Two men

2 of our actors hold still for the first of 4 exposures of tableau 3.

These images will be displayed as a single “lenticular” photograph. Spanning nearly the width of the display case, the images will form a background for the exhibit. Remember those old postcards whose images changed when you tilted them, making the kitten chase the butterfly? Those were lenticular photos, but ours will be two and a half metres long, one metre high and feature three images that will blend and change as the visitor shifts viewing position. It’s going to be very cool (no kittens, though—they wouldn’t stay still).

Panoramic image

Five images from the first tableau roughly assembled together as one.

Panoramic image

The first tableau as assembled by the photo stitch software and further retouched by our designer.

Naturally there will be artifacts a-plenty. Phantom notes, legitimate notes, documents, a printing plate, coins and tokens will feature in this fun and charming exhibition. Swindle! Canadian Phantom Banks has now been installed, complete with a hand-painted sign thirteen feet long!

Canadian Museum of History, lower level, past the Canadian Stamp Collection gallery.

Old bank note

A “phantom 5” from the Bank of Ottawa. Many similar phantom notes will be in the exhibition. (NCC 1975,55,5)

Booklets

Guides for both solvent banks and bogus banks.

We want to hear from you! Do you have an idea for a blog post you’d like to see?
Content type(s): Blog posts

The Museum Blog

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
April 4, 2022

Talk to your kids about money

By: Heather Montgomery


Collage, ceramic pig on background of a bank book and a stamp folder with kids on it.
Introduce important financial skills to your children, and help them plan for their futures with free resources from the Bank of Canada Museum and others.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Financial literacy Grade level(s): Early childhood / Kindergarten, Grade 01, Grade 02, Grade 03, Grade 04, 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
March 3, 2022

Teaching inflation during the COVID-19 pandemic

By: Heather Montgomery


COVID-19 has had an unprecedented effect on the economy: closing businesses, driving down demand and interrupting supplies. With news stories and popular culture addressing inflation and supply chain issues, now is the perfect time to explain this key economic concept to your high school students.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy Grade level(s): Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
February 3, 2022

Queen of the bank notes

By: Graham Iddon


Few of us have ever met her, and it’s likely none of us are even remotely related to her. Yet, Canadians have carried her picture in their wallets for generations now. She’s Queen Elizabeth II and has been our monarch for over 70 years.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): History
December 22, 2021

New acquisitions–2021 edition

By: David Bergeron


The Bank of Canada Museum is responsible for the National Currency Collection, and part of its mandate is to foster and develop that collection. Despite the challenges of collecting during a pandemic, curators at the Bank of Canada Museum have acquired some unique artifacts—including some that document the pandemic itself.
Content type(s): Blog posts
December 2, 2021

The true value of money

By: Graham Iddon


Photo collage, old bank notes and coins, gold nuggets and a computer component.
What is money—when you really stop to think about it? To understand how money works, and what it ultimately represents, we need to strip it down to its very basic function.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy 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

More Info

30 Bank Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0G9, CANADA
613‑782‑8914

  • Things to do

  • Plan your visit
  • Find educational resources
  • Search the Collection
  • Connect with us
  • Things to see

  • Canadian bank notes
  • Exhibitions
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Things to know

  • Accessibility and special needs
  • Code of conduct
  • COVID-19 protocols
  • Privacy
●●
Bank of Canada Museum

Visit the Bank of Canada web site ›

We use cookies to help us keep improving this website.

Accept and continue