The National Currency Collection Turned 50!

Since its humble beginnings in 1959, the Collection has grown from a small sample of notes issued by Canada’s chartered banks to the largest collection of Canadian coins, paper money, and tokens in the world!

Browse this incredible collection and find out about the history of money in Canada.

Curator’s Pick - Funding the War of 1812

This year marks the bicentennial of the War of 1812. On 18 June 1812, U.S. President James Madison signed a declaration of war against Great Britain in reaction to the blockade on American ships from landing in European ports in aid of the Napoleon’s army, who was at war with Britain.

What We Collect, and Why

The National Currency Collection was formed in 1959 to preserve for posterity examples of Canadian bank notes issued by chartered banks and other institutions prior to the creation of the Bank of Canada in 1934. By the early 1960s the focus of the Collection was enlarged to be as comprehensive as possible with regard to Canadian money, while still including representative samples of foreign money. Today, this remains the direction for acquiring additional material for the Collection.