Archives

• August 21, 2025

  Whatever happened to the penny? A history of our one-cent coin.

  By: Graham Iddon

  
  

  

  The idea of the penny as the basic denomination of an entire currency system has been with Canadians for as long as there has been a Canada. But the one-cent piece itself has been gone since 2012.

  Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): History
• August 6, 2025

  Escaping debt: The risks and benefits of borrowing

  

  Unlock financial literacy with challenging puzzles in this classroom escape room. Students will explore financial risk, credit scores, debt and interest with worksheets and an interactive game.

  Content type(s): Lesson plans Subject(s): Financial literacy, Math, Social studies Grade level(s): Grade 06, Grade 07 / Secondary 1, Grade 08 / Secondary 2
• August 5, 2025

  Good as gold? A simple explanation of the gold standard

  By: Graham Iddon

  
  

  

  In an ideal gold standard monetary system, every piece of paper currency represents an amount of gold held by an authority. But in practice, the gold standard system’s rules were extremely and repeatedly bent in the face of economic realities.

  Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Business, Economics, Financial literacy, History Grade level(s): Grade 03, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5
• June 2, 2025

  Saving and spending

  

  Develop positive financial habits through a saving and spending game and a goal-setting activity with real-life scenarios.

  Content type(s): Lesson plans Subject(s): Financial literacy, Math, Social studies Grade level(s): Grade 05, Grade 06
• May 22, 2025

  Speculating on the piggy bank

  By: Graham Iddon

  
  

  

  Ever since the first currencies allowed us to store value, we’ve needed a special place to store those shekels, drachmae and pennies. And the piggy bank—whether in pig form or not—has nearly always been there.

  Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Arts, Business, Economics, English language arts, Financial literacy, Geography, Health, History, Math, Science Grade level(s): Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5
• May 16, 2025

  Entrepreneurship: Kids edition

  

  Turn your students into young entrepreneurs as they explore business basics, budgeting and marketing. Pitching their own creative ideas is a fun way to build real-world skills and confidence.

  Content type(s): Lesson plans Subject(s): Business, Economics, English language arts, Financial literacy, Math Grade level(s): Grade 05, Grade 06, Grade 07 / Secondary 1
• March 28, 2025

  Budgets: Math for life

  

  Introduce budgeting concepts and best practices by planning an event. Students will build skills with fractions, decimals and percentages using worksheets and hands-on activities.

  Content type(s): Lesson plans Subject(s): Financial literacy, Math Grade level(s): Grade 04, Grade 05, Grade 06
• February 26, 2025

  New acquisitions—2024 edition

  By: David Bergeron, Krista Broeckx

  
  

  

  Bank of Canada Museum’s acquisitions in 2024 highlight the relationships that shape the National Currency Collection.

  Content type(s): Blog posts
• February 11, 2025

  Money’s metaphors

  By: Phillipe Audet-Cayer, Graham Iddon, Patricia Marando

  
  

  

  Buck, broke, greenback, loonie, toonie, dough, flush, gravy train, born with a silver spoon in your mouth… No matter how common the expression for money, many of us haven’t the faintest idea where these terms come from.

  Content type(s): Blog posts
• January 22, 2025

  Value for money: Determining unit price

  

  Calculate unit prices and compare value for money. Use real-life shopping scenarios to determine if something is a real deal.

  Content type(s): Lesson plans Subject(s): Financial literacy, Math Grade level(s): Grade 04