Currency Museum of the Bank of Canada
By Library and Archives Canada | Monday, 29 March 2004
The National Currency Collection contains some 100,000 items consisting of coins, tokens and paper money in the custody of, or owned by, the Bank of Canada. It includes a relatively complete collection of the coins, tokens and of paper money that have been used or are now being used in Canada. The purpose of the collection is to portray the development of money through the ages with particular emphasis on the history of Canada's currency.
The Currency Museum displays a considerable portion of the collection in its eight galleries. Six galleries describe the development of money through the past 2,500 years, each gallery focussing on a different phase. Gallery seven displays special exhibits. Gallery eight is the Collector's Corner - the most comprehensive display of Canadian numismatic material in existence. The museum, which opened on December 5, 1980, is housed in the centre block of the Bank of Canada.
The barter system, the use of special items for trading purposes, the chronic shortage of coinage during French and British rule, the transformation of ordinary playing cards into paper money - these are intriguing but little-known aspects of the history of money in Canada. Yet this is only a part of the history of money in the world as a whole. More chapters in this fascinating story are yours to discover with a visit to the Currency Museum in Ottawa.
The illustrations accompanying the introductory text of each section are the work of James Zagon, Ottawa.
Pre-Colonial Period
French Colonial Period
- The Shortage of Coins
- A New Kind of Money-Playing Cards
- The Coin Shortage Continues
- A New Issue of Card Money
British Colonial Period
- The Spanish-American Dollar
- Tokens and Army Bills
- Canada Banking Co., 5 shillings, 1792
- Lower Canada, bridge token, c.1808
- Lower Canada, Vexator Canadiensis, one halfpenny token, 1811
- Lower Canada, Lauzon ferry token, 1821
- Lower Canada, Montreal British Militia button, one halfpenny token, c. 1830
- Lower Canada, Tiffen token, one halfpenny, 1812
- Lower Canada, Magdalen Islands, penny token, 1815
- Lower Canada, Blacksmith token, one halfpenny, c. 1830
- Lower Canada, Molson, one halfpenny token, 1837
- Upper Canada, Sir Isaac Brock, one halfpenny token, 1816
- Upper Canada, Lesslie & Sons, two- penny token, 1822
- Prince Edward Island, William Fitzpatrick, two shillings, six pence, leather, 1836
- Prince Edward Island, Ships, Colonies & Commerce one halfpenny token, 1830 - 1860
- Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, anonymous, one halfpenny token
- Nova Scotia, anonymous, penny token 1813
- Nova Scotia, Miles W. White, one halfpenny token, 1815
- Nova Scotia,W.A. & S Black, one halfpenny token, 1816
- Nova Scotia, Provincial government, penny token, 1832
- Nova Scotia, Provincial government, penny token, 1856
- New Brunswick, Provincial government, penny token, 1854
- Newfoundland, Rutherford Brothers, one halfpenny token, 1846
- Devins & Bolton, Montreal, Quebec, advertising token, 1863 - 1880
- Samuel Anckorn, Owen Sound, Ontario, one- shave token 1892,
- Rossland Billiard and Bowling Hall, Rossland, British Columbia, 6 and one-quarter cents, c.1880
- Red River and Assiniboine Bridge Co., Winnipeg, Manitoba, two cents, 1898
- Moosomin, Assa., Whyte & Co., 50 cents, 1893
- The Rise of Banks
- Bank Tokens
Confederation
- The Move to the Decimal System
- Province of Canada, Victoria, one cent, 1858-1859
- Devins & Bolton, Victoria, advertising token, 1867
- Province of Canada, 20 cents, 1858
- New Brunswick, one-half cent, 1861
- New Brunswick, Victoria, 10 cents, 1864
- Prince Edward Island, one cent, 1871
- Newfoundland, one cent, 1872H
- Newfoundland, one cent, 1938
- Newfoundland, five cents, 1947C
- Newfoundland, two dollars, 1870
- British Columbia, 20 dollars, 1862
- The International Bank, five dollars 1858
- Canada's First Coinage
- Canada's First Notes
- The Royal Canadian Mint and the Gold Standard
- The First Attempt to "Canadianize" Coinage
- The Bank of Canada
- World War II
- Changes in Coin Design
More articles
- Canadian coins
- Canadian banknotes
- Canadian tokens and medals
- International
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