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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!

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    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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Unpacking the Collection 10

By: David Bergeron


December 14, 2018

Esperanto: universal language—universal coinage?

It should be no surprise to anybody that the people who promoted a universal language are the same people who attempted to create a universal currency. In the 1870s and ’80s, Dr. Ludovic Lazarus Zamenhof, an ophthalmologist from Bialystok, Poland, developed Esperanto, a language described as an “international auxiliary language” that would bridge cultures. Bialystok was an ethnically divided part of imperialist Russia, and Dr. Zamenhof grew up feeling that the enmity and conflict in his community were rooted in the differing languages of the various cultures there.

Esperanto very quickly developed a serious following. A textbook of Esperanto grammar appeared in 1887, and the first congress of Esperanto speakers was held in France in 1905. But after the First World War, Esperanto was viewed with suspicion by most of Europe’s burgeoning totalitarian regimes. Esperantists were often persecuted, expelled or even executed, but they still met in secret.

5 steloj coin from the Universala Ligo Esperanto league, copper

Esperanto is recognized in Google Translate: copy and paste the coin’s legend, LA MONDO ESTAS UNU LANDO – LA HOMARO UNU POPOLO, into it for the English translation. Universala Ligo, 5 steloj, coin, 1959 NCC 2007.043.001

Not until after the Second World War was an Esperanto movement openly revived, with the creation of a Dutch organization called the Universala Ligo (Universal League). The League’s mission was to unite mankind through the use of a common language. During the first international assembly of the Ligo in 1946, a decision was made to introduce a common world currency with an internationally stable value. The League’s hope was to achieve peace through international economics—that global conflicts caused by international economic pressures could be resolved by using this revolutionary currency. This noble task would fall upon the “stelo” (Esperanto for “star”) and its value was determined as 1 stelo = 1 standard loaf of bread, which at the time cost 0.25 Dutch guilders.

10 steloj coin, from the Universala Ligo Esperanto league, silver

On the obverse (front face of the coin) is the founder of Esperanto, Dr. Ludovic Zamenhof. 10 steloj, Universala Ligo, Netherlands, 1959 NCC 2007.043.002

logo of a green star on a red striped shield

The Universal League emerged from a secret association of Esperanto speakers who met in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation.

The first coins were minted in 1960. Through 1965, successive issues produced 1, 5, 10 and 25 steloj denominations. They actually circulated—but not with the support of any government. Steloj functioned for over 30 years as token coinage used to purchase books and other items within the Netherlands’ chapter of the Ligo. In 1974 the stelo was revalued at 0.50 Dutch guilders. With the hope of cushioning it from inflation, the stelo was later pegged to the consumer price index, a tool for measuring inflation based on the prices of basic consumer goods. But fierce internal disputes over how it should be valued brought about the demise of the currency. The Universala Ligo disbanded in 1993 and, in the late 1990s, the deaths of its greatest advocates ended any major Esperanto initiatives.

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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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