History
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April 30, 2021
Mishap on the dollar
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.
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November 30, 2020
How Many Groats Are in a Noble?
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.
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October 21, 2020
The Story Behind the Engraving
The men on the back of this bill were part of a small community of families, a summer hunting camp called Aulatsiivik on Baffin Island.
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October 5, 2020
If I Had a Million Dollars…I’d Be Reasonably Well Off
When the Barenaked Ladies released “If I Had a $1,000,000,” they could have considered themselves reasonably rich. And today? Well, there’s this inflation thing…
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July 16, 2020
Johnson’s Counterfeits
Johnson’s entire family, two girls and five boys, was involved in the counterfeiting operation: dad made the plates, the daughters forged the signatures and the boys were learning to be engravers.
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June 29, 2020
The Reluctant Bank Note
Among 1975 $50 bill’s various design proposals were three images, three thematic colours and even three printing methods.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
