The Bank of Canada’s National Currency Collection (NCC), now in its 66th year, continues to expand its holdings with fascinating acquisitions that reflect the depth and diversity of numismatic history. Home to over 130,000 artifacts, the NCC forms the core of the Bank of Canada Museum in downtown Ottawa and represents nearly 4,000 years of currency and payment-related history from around the world.
Recent additions to the collection span ancient Roman coins, early Canadian paper money, rare tokens, and cryptocurrency storage items. These acquisitions, obtained through a combination of public donations, institutional partnerships, and private purchases, showcase the evolving nature of money – and the curators’ ongoing efforts to preserve this legacy for future generations.
Among the highlights is a counterfeit $2 coin transferred by the RCMP’s National Anti-Counterfeiting Bureau, as well as hundreds of historic master dies and punches donated by the Royal Canadian Mint. Each item helps to deepen the NCC’s connection with key national institutions that play a role in Canada’s currency history and security.
The museum also secured one of the earliest examples of paper money used in Newfoundland – an 1850 treasury note sheet from the Government of Newfoundland – alongside historical materials from Canadian numismatic pioneers, including Robert Wallace McLachlan and the Numismatic Society of Montréal.
These acquisitions underscore the museum’s ongoing mission to build a collection that not only reflects Canada’s numismatic past but also captures the broader story of how people exchange, secure, and value money across cultures and centuries.
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