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    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.

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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.

    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.

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  • The Museum Blog

New Acquisitions

By: Paul S. Berry


April 18, 2018

The 1936 Dot Set

If you watch The Crown, a Netflix series about the life of Queen Elizabeth II, you will remember that her uncle, King Edward VIII, fell in love with American divorcée Wallis Simpson and, in December 1936, abdicated rather than give her up. Edward’s brother—and Elizabeth’s father—Albert subsequently became King George VI.

The abdication of Edward VIII had implications for the Royal family and the succession, but did you know that it also affected Canada? It wasn’t merely a divisive topic over the dinner table, pitting Edward’s supporters against those who thought it “just wasn’t proper.” It had a big effect on our money.

engraving of Prince Edward

Prince Edward, first son of King George V and Queen Mary, from Canada’s 1935 $5 bill.

engraving of King George VI

Prince Albert, second son of King George V and Queen Mary, from Canada’s 1935 $50 bill.

$1 bill with Edward VIII

Bank notes were already in advanced stages of design before King Edward VIII abdicated. This photograph of a model for the new notes was made December 1, after official approval of the portrait was received in mid-November.

Early in 1937, Canada experienced a shortage of 1-, 10- and 25-cent coins. Normally, the Mint would have filled the void using the new dies for 1937, but their production had been delayed owing to Edward VIII’s abdication. To meet the emergency, the Mint struck coins using dies from 1936. A small impression was added to the reverse dies, creating a raised dot on coins struck from those tools that distinguished them from the 1936 coins.

Canadian 1936 dot penny

The last year of this design was to be1936. Introduced in 1920, it was replaced in 1937 by the familiar maple leaf cent, whose production ceased in 2012.

penny close up

The dot on the 1-cent piece appears to be smaller than that on the 10- and 25-cent coins.


The 1936 dot coinage has drawn much attention from domestic and foreign collectors of Canadian coins since knowledge of its existence was made public about 1938–39. As coin collecting became a popular hobby in postwar Canada, clubs were formed across the country and collectors eagerly searched their change, looking to assemble complete date sets of Canadian coins. The dot coinage was recognized as rare, and the 1-cent coin in particular became something of a Holy Grail for collectors—always sought but never found. Coin dealers placed ads offering to purchase the coins. Even the producers of the new Whitman storage folders, with their convenient die-cut holes into which young and old alike could press their new-found treasures, left spaces for these rare pieces in their products.

In April 2016, Robert Lafortune graciously donated a 1936 coin set, including the three dot pieces, to the National Currency Collection. The set had been in the possession of his family since the early 1940s when his father, Maurice Lafortune, purchased the set from the Mint, his employer.

red leather case

Rather than making new cases, the Mint repurposed holders from 1908 by adding a new label to the outside.

open coin case

The insert was also changed by adding room for the silver dollar, which was not in use in 1908.


To say the set is rare is an understatement. This is the only intact set known to exist. Two other sets were sold to prominent American collector and businessman John J. Pittman in 1951 and 1954. One set was stolen from his home in April 1964 and subsequently dispersed; the second set was sold piecemeal in 1997 when Pittman’s collection was auctioned. The 1-cent and 10-cent dot pieces are also two of Canada’s rarest coins. Despite Mint Master Walter Clifton Ronson’s 1952 confirmation that 678,823 1-cent and 191,237 10-cent pieces had been placed into circulation, only three 1-cent pieces and five 10-cent pieces are known to exist beyond those in the present set. This discrepancy is a mystery that has never been adequately explained.

Canadian 1936 dot dime

All coins in the set except for the 5-cent piece are specimens, coins of the highest quality specially struck for presentation purposes.

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Content type(s): Blog posts

The Museum Blog

September 16, 2021

A mythic metal: Some stories of gold coins

By: Krista Broeckx


In 1896, three enterprising men struck gold in the Klondike region of the Yukon. Their story is just one of many that illustrates the allure of gold through the ages.
Content type(s): Blog posts
September 2, 2021

Virtual Worlds. Real Economies.

By: Adam Young


A cartoon astronaut waves in front of a logo of the game.
The economies in modern, complex video games can teach gamers a lot about decision making and financial literacy.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy, Social studies Grade level(s): Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
August 19, 2021

Fur Trade Economics

By: David Bergeron, Graham Iddon, Krista Broeckx


Photo collage, yellowed document with writing, tokens, carved stick, silver beaver trinket.
Over its 350-year lifespan, the Hudson’s Bay Company has had an enormous impact on Canada’s economy and how the nation was settled.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy, History, Social studies 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
June 30, 2021

The house the Bank of Canada built

By: Graham Iddon


Building, old, square, stone building surrounded by 2 glass towers.
The Bank of Canada head office is two structures: the stone cube on Wellington Street and the glass structure that it is nestled into. Both are significant architectural landmarks.
Content type(s): Blog posts
June 3, 2021

Value is in the Eye of the Consumer

By: Graham Iddon


Collage, money, graphs and people playing with hula hoops.
Supply and demand is part of the very bedrock of an economy. It's what generates the price of any product or service.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy, Financial literacy, 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 30, 2021

Mishap on the dollar

By: Graham Iddon


Bank note engraving, green, logs and 2 boats on a river in front of a tree-covered hill with towers.
An image of a river of logs floating behind Parliament Hill has long lived in Canadian collective memory thanks to a bank note, the Scenes of Canada $1 bill.
Content type(s): Blog posts
March 23, 2021

The Last Smokestack

By: Graham Iddon


Bank note engraving, purple, a large, highly detailed factory complex of pipes, tanks and chimneys.
Putting an industrial facility on a bank note is not a casual decision. At the end of the 1960s, such places were earning a bad reputation for pollution. There was actually a good reason for this choice, but it wasn’t obvious to many Canadians.
Content type(s): Blog posts
February 26, 2021

Playing with Economy

By: Graham Iddon


A diverse group of 4 young children playing a board game.
There might be only a handful of basic game formats, but there is an infinity of variations—a surprising number of which require the skills we need to manage our daily economic lives.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy, Financial literacy, Math, Social studies Grade level(s): 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
January 4, 2021

Economic Opportunity Costs

By: Graham Iddon


Man in a superhero costume crouching in an aisle of a home renovation warehouse.
With his superpowers, Peter Parker would no doubt do a fabulous job of tiling his kitchen backsplash. But as Spider-Man, he has more valuable things to do with his time.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy, Financial literacy, Social studies Grade level(s): Grade 08 / Secondary 2, Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
November 30, 2020

How Many Groats Are in a Noble?

By: Graham Iddon


For daily users of modern money, getting an understanding of the old British system of currency can be an act of confusion and wonder. But it’s also a peep into 13 centuries of European numismatic history.
Content type(s): Blog posts
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