We had an inquiry about displaying old currency at the museum and that prompted me to do some research on old currency.
In 1870 the government passed the Dominion Notes Act allowing itself to produce Canadian currency. It was originally tied to the British pound but in 1931 became a free-floating currency.
There have been 3 series of banknotes, Canadian Journey, Canadian Birds and Scenes of Canada.
The $1000 bill was released in the 1986 to 2001 banknote line and quickly became a favourite of gangsters and drug dealers. It was discontinued in 2000 but there were still 700,000 in circulation. In 2018 the government announced a plan to delegalize the missing bills and as of Jan 1, 2021, the $1.00, $2.00, $25.00, $500.00 and $1000.00 bills are no longer legal tender as well as Dominion of Canada notes issued between 1870 and 1935. Legal tender means that they can’t be used to buy anything, however, the Bank of Canada will reimburse their face value.
With the introduction of Covid restrictions, the use of banknotes has been greatly reduced and it would seem that will continue as we return to normal. It would appear that a display of some of the discontinued notes would be appropriate for the museum as the next generation will likely never see $1.00 or $2.00 bills or many of the older banknotes.
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE MUSEUM?
The museum will have its semi-annual meeting next month. If you are interested please call Dawne McKenzie at 204-858-2071 or Barbara Lee at 204-858-2358. Our main reason for the meeting will be to hire our summer student and to organize a house cleaning for the museum.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR AT THE MUSEUM?
We continue to look for family pictures to fill up our display in the tea room. If you have a family picture we would love to have a copy of it. You may call Dawne or Barbara at the above numbers.