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

    Money in 10 Questions: Kids Edition

    On view until Fall 2024. A play-based exhibition where kids learn the basics of money and personal finance—and have fun doing it.

    Connect with us

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

  • Explore

    Exhibitions

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

    Blog

    Collection

    • About the Collection
    • Collection Services
    • Canadian Bank Notes Series
    • Search the Collection
    Photo, a tabletop with several printed paper forms and hand-written documents plus a bank card.  

    A checkup on cheques

    With the continuing rise of e-transfers and electronic payments, people have been predicting the death of the humble cheque for decades. But it hasn’t happened yet.

  • Learn

    Learn

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

    All About Money

    Virtual program: Get your students talking about money with this lively and interactive virtual classroom presentation.

    Teaching math using money

    From skip counting to making change, working with money is a great way for students to practice math skills.

  • Home
  • The Museum Blog

New Acquisitions

By: Paul S. Berry


May 30, 2017
Share this page on Facebook
Share this page on Twitter
Share this page on LinkedIn
Share this page by email

British Columbia Gold Pieces

British Columbia’s $10 and $20 gold pieces are among Canada’s most celebrated coins. Made in 1862 from gold mined during the famed BC gold rushes, they were the product of a government program that aroused intercolonial rivalries and pitted the media against the governor. Although never released for circulation, these two pieces were part of the first official initiative to mint coins in Canada—almost half a century before the opening of the Royal Canadian Mint in 1908.

British Columbia, $10 gold pattern, reverse side, 1862. The designer’s name appears below the ribbon. (NCC 2016.50.1)

BC gold $10 coin

British Columbia, $10 gold pattern, obverse side, 1862. The obverse design was the same for both the $10 and $20 denominations. (NCC 2016.50.1)

British Columbia $20 gold pattern, reverse side, 1862. The designer’s name appears below the ribbon. (NCC 2016.50.2)

In 1857 and 1858, gold was discovered in the interior of British Columbia. Miners, largely American from the California gold fields, flocked north. As British Columbia lacked facilities to assay gold dust (analyze its purity) and mint coins, there was no immediate way to turn this treasure into money. Miners and purchasing agents exported their gold to more developed facilities in San Francisco. Dismayed by the impact this situation had on BC’s economy, Governor Sir James Douglas took action. In 1862, he authorized the purchase of minting equipment and ordered dies to strike $10 and $20 coins for use in the colony. This upset people on Vancouver Island, then a separate colony from British Columbia, who felt the new mint should be in their jurisdiction. Perhaps as a result, within a year Governor Douglas had a change of heart and decided not to have any coins minted for general circulation. The equipment was moved into storage. This decision put him at odds with other government officials, setting off a media storm that lasted over a year. However, he gave approval for a few examples, called patterns, to be struck and sent to the 1862 International Exhibition in London. A few patterns were also unofficially struck as gifts for local dignitaries.

Today, only a handful of these coins remains: a small number of silver pieces struck by the designer to test the dies and a few gold patterns struck once the minting machinery was assembled.

The BC gold patterns have an international appeal, particularly for Americans, given the coins’ association with California. In fact, over the last century, most owners of the gold patterns have been US collectors. The coin dies, today in the Royal BC Museum, were engraved by Albert Küner who worked in San Francisco and prepared dies for other American gold pieces. The two coins are even the same size and value as the contemporary US $10 and $20 gold coins; the so-called eagles and double eagles.

United States $20 gold “double eagle,” reverse side, 1858. Struck at the San Francisco branch of the U.S. Mint. Note the small “s” for San Francisco above “Twenty D.” (NCC 1987.39.48)

United States $20 gold “double eagle,” obverse side, 1858. The San Francisco branch of the U.S. Mint opened in 1854. (NCC 1987.39.48)

While Governor Douglas’ actions deprived British Columbia of its own circulating coinage, those heady days of gold fever in the colony saw a variety of money in circulation. Gold dust, although inconvenient, was widely used alongside American and British gold and silver coins, assorted foreign coins, bank notes and paper instruments from a few local banks.

Bank of British North America $1 note, 1859. Founded in 1837, the Bank of British North America opened its Victoria agency in 1859. (NCC 1964.88.325)

Bank of British Columbia $1 note, 1863. This note was overprinted for issue at the bank’s branch in New Westminster. (NCC 1963.53.4)

The BC gold pieces are a significant part of Canada’s material culture. They speak to the early development of Canada’s West Coast, the region’s economic ties to its natural resources and its early links to American markets to the south. More to the point, they represent the initiative of a fledgling province to assert authority over a virgin territory on the eve of Confederation.

Cheque printed in San Francisco and drawn on Macdonald & Company, Private Bankers, Victoria, Vancouver’s Island, 1862. (NCC 1965.219.107)

Cheque drawn on the US firm Wells, Fargo and Company at its office in Victoria, Vancouver’s Island, 1863. (NCC 1973.28.1)

More information on this fascinating episode of Canadian history may be found in the pages of The Assay Office and the Proposed Mint at New Westminster by R.L. Reid, Memoir No. VII, Archives of British Columbia, Victoria, 1926.

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

Subscribe to The Museum Blog
The Museum Blog

November 2, 2020

Teaching Economics During the COVID-19 Pandemic

By: Adam Young


Authentic, teachable moments show students how the Bank of Canada is helping the economy navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Business and careers, Economy, Geography, Social studies Grade level(s): Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
October 21, 2020

The Story Behind the Engraving

By: Graham Iddon


The men on the back of this bill were part of a small community of families, a summer hunting camp called Aulatsiivik on Baffin Island.
Content type(s): Blog posts
October 5, 2020

If I Had a Million Dollars…I’d Be Reasonably Well Off

By: Graham Iddon


When the Barenaked Ladies released “If I Had a $1,000,000,” they could have considered themselves reasonably rich. And today? Well, there’s this inflation thing…
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy, Math, 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
July 16, 2020

Johnson’s Counterfeits

By: David Bergeron


Johnson’s entire family, two girls and five boys, was involved in the counterfeiting operation: dad made the plates, the daughters forged the signatures and the boys were learning to be engravers.
Content type(s): Blog posts
June 29, 2020

The Reluctant Bank Note

By: Graham Iddon


Among 1975 $50 bill’s various design proposals were three images, three thematic colours and even three printing methods.
Content type(s): Blog posts
June 11, 2020

Nominating an Icon for the Next $5 Bank Note

By: Graham Iddon


Using a Bank of Canada Museum lesson plan, nearly 200 students told us who they thought should be the bank NOTE-able Canadian on our new $5 bill.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): History, Social studies Grade level(s): Grade 06, Grade 07 / Secondary 1, Grade 08 / Secondary 2, Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4
May 5, 2020

The “Streak of Rust” and the King of Newfoundland

By: David Bergeron


Reid was on the verge of ruin, yet insisted on continuing railway construction. Suffering huge losses, and with no credit or cash resources, Reid issued wage notes to pay his employees.
Content type(s): Blog posts
April 22, 2020

Retired Cash

By: Graham Iddon


In January 2021, 17 of our old bank notes will lose their legal tender status—what does that mean?
Content type(s): Blog posts
  • « Previous
  • 1
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 19
  • Next »
Go To Page

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