This year marks the Saskatoon Coin Club’s 60th anniversary, which its members Jim MacKenzie and Cliff Beattie have commemorated by issuing a special “5000 Hubuck note.”
A fantasy currency, the “Hubuck” owes its name to Saskatoon’s nickname, Hub City.
“If you show up to a club meeting you earn 100 Hubucks. If you give a presentation or perform other misc tasks you earn 400 Hubucks,” writes MacKenzie, who added the club has also issued 1000 Hubuck notes.
The club hosts an annual auction for several $25 gift certificates redeemable at Sceptre Coin and Stamp in downtown Saskatoon, but bids are only accepted in Hubucks.
The design of the 5000 Hubuck note is based on an unissued $5 note intended for release by the Bank of Saskatchewan.
Paying homage to Canada’s 1967 $1 note marking the country’s centennial, circulating 5000 Hubuck notes were issued using sequential serial numbers, and souvenir versions with the serial number “1960- 2020” will be given to club members throughout their anniversary year (although the souvenir versions are not accepted at club auctions). These notes use the design for a $5 note intended for release by the Bank of Saskatchewan, which folded before any notes were issued.
For more information about the Hubuck – including a list and images of all signature combinations and varieties – visit saskatooncoinclub.ca/ articles/99b_scc-hubucks.html.