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Welding with Liquid

By: Stephanie Shank


April 25, 2019

Broken printing plates made whole

Gluing metal? You would imagine that a broken metal object would need to be welded back together. Not necessarily. These damaged printing plates were made whole using glue—though not the stuff you used in grade three.

A treasure trove of artifacts

Having recently blogged on the conservation of a 19th century printing press, it seemed appropriate to write a blog on the conservation of printing plates that may very well have been used on this press. In May 2013, the Museum acquired for its National Currency Collection more than 650 engraved steel dies (printing plates) from the British American Bank Note Company. (Read more about this acquisition.)

envelope with an engraving printed on a label

The print dies were in envelopes with sample prints glued to the front. Nobody had much of an idea of what condition the plates themselves were in. Die, printing, British American Banknote Co., Canada, 1905

But, we couldn’t place the dies in storage straight away. There were assessments to be made, labels to be detached and a little clean-up was called for. Each die was wiped down with mineral spirits and soft cotton swabs to remove a dark, greasy substance that covered the surfaces—evidence of their past use as security printing plates. During this cleaning process, we discovered that eight dies were broken in half, likely from past printing activity. After further evaluation, we decided to repair the breaks.

printing plate broken in half

This engraving of an early coat of arms for the City of Ottawa highlights labour alongside government. Die, printing, British American Banknote Co., Canada, 1875

printing plate broken in half

Prior to treatment, the plate shows a clean break. Die, printing, British American Banknote Co., Canada, 1873

Conserving the plates

Artifact preservation is the non-invasive act of minimizing and preventing future damage or deterioration. Artifact conservation has the same goal but with the addition of hands-on treatments such as cleaning and repairing.

In heritage conservation, broken metal objects can be reassembled with an adhesive most commonly used for repairing glass and ceramics. This adhesive, known as HXTAL, is a two-part epoxy resin which, through a chemical reaction, hardens after mixing. It works well with dense materials as it creates strong, tight bonds and has the added benefit of neither swelling nor discolouring over time.

bottles of epoxy glue

HXTL is called “hextal” by conservators. Unlike the two-part epoxy from the hardware store, HXTAL is a very thin liquid.

metal plates held in wooden clamps

No, the plates weren’t taped together; just held together while the adhesive cured.

Each die was reassembled, held together with thin strips of painter’s tape and then placed upright in clamps. Small drops of HXTAL were then applied along the break with the tip of a wooden stick. Capillary action then draws the glue into the break. The next day, any remaining adhesive was removed with swabs and wooden sticks lightly dampened with acetone. This is important because after 24 hours, HXTAL will become too hard to be removed without the potential of damaging the object. The dies were then left in the clamps for an additional week until the adhesive had fully cured. The final step was to create custom mounts for each die to ensure they are properly supported while in collection storage.

2 printing plates

The plates may now be re-assembled, but could never be used for printing again.

It is both our pleasure and our duty to preserve items such as these dies for the future. They are a glimpse into our economic and social history as well as into printing traditions that reach back nearly 600 years.

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
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
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