More than 50 years after purchasing his first wooden nickels, Norm Belsten is still adding new listings to the most comprehensive catalogue of Canadian wooden money ever assembled. Now 92 and living in Newmarket, Ont., Belsten continues to refine and expand his landmark Canadian Woods Catalogue, cementing his reputation as the hobby’s leading authority on “woods.”
Affectionately known as the “King of Canadian Woods,” Belsten has spent decades collecting, manufacturing, designing and documenting Canada’s wooden money. His 700-page inaugural catalogue, published in 1988 after four years of intensive research, remains the foundation for collectors across the country, and a new edition is now in the works.
Even after selling much of his personal collection beginning in 2021, Belsten has not slowed down. With assistance from fellow collectors, he continues to assign catalogue numbers, scan newly discovered pieces and expand the record of this uniquely Canadian specialty, which now approaches 12,000 documented listings.
From rare one-of-a-kind issues to newly surfaced discoveries, including a Northwest Territories piece linked to the Cold War-era Distant Early Warning radar network, Belsten’s work ensures that collectors know what exists and how to identify it. “If you don’t know they’re out there, you don’t know what you’re looking for,” he says.
A 50-year life member of the Canadian Association of Wooden Money Collectors and a long-time contributor to clubs nationwide, Belsten has shaped not only the catalogue of Canadian woods but the community that surrounds it. His legacy extends far beyond the pieces themselves to the friendships and mentorships built along the way.
In this feature, Canadian Coin News explores Belsten’s extraordinary journey, from buying a dozen woods for $1 in 1969 to building what many consider the definitive record of Canadian wooden money.
This story is among others in the latest issue of Canadian Coin News (V63N26), released today, Feb. 3. Coverage also includes World Cup as the major theme of the March coin releases from the Royal Canadian Mint, as well as a look at how high silver prices are affecting Canadian-owned mining operations in Mexico.