The Museum Blog
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May 5, 2020
The “Streak of Rust” and the King of Newfoundland
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. -
April 22, 2020
Retired Cash
In January 2021, 17 of our old bank notes will lose their legal tender status—what does that mean? -
March 30, 2020
The Fisher, the Photographer and the Five
There’s little doubt that the BCP45 is lovingly preserved today partly thanks to being immortalized on this beautiful blue five-dollar bill. -
January 15, 2020
Where Futurists Feared to Tread
Among the laser pistols, hover cars and androids of science fiction, there’s an elderly elephant in the room: money. -
January 2, 2020
Wrap-up, 2019
The Bank of Canada Museum set some very ambitious goals at the end of 2018. We have managed to achieve more in one year than we had since we opened in 2017. -
November 8, 2019
Private Atkinson’s War
Private Edward Atkinson’s example of trench art is what is called a “love token”—a souvenir made from a coin. It’s one man’s personal wartime experience expressed through a pocket-sized medium. -
September 9, 2019
Bank Note/Billet de banque
The first Canadian paper money was issued in 1817, and for the next 120 years, the vast majority of Canadian bank notes were only in English. -
July 18, 2019
RCNA Convention, 2019
Bank of Canada Museum will be at the 66th annual convention of the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association (RCNA). -
July 8, 2019
Landscape Engraved
Retaining the landscape format but showing human activity and intervention transformed the imagery into an extended portrait of Canada and Canadians. -
May 24, 2019
The Hunting of the Greenback
During World War Two, the Bank created the Foreign Exchange Control Board (FECB). One of its major tasks was to find as many US dollars as possible to pay for American imports.