Money -> Paper Money: World -> Canada
Canadian paper money has an interesting history. If many of us were handed an example of the first Canadian paper currency, we wouldn’t recognize its significance. That’s because the first bills issued in Canada weren’t printed bills at all because paper was an expensive and somewhat scarce commodity. In 1685, Jacques de Meulles,the intendant of the French colony in North America, needed money to pay troops. He gathered playing cards, signed them, put his seal on them, and distributed them. He made this card money legal tender and required merchants to accept them. The rarity of these cards today make them highly valuable, so they’re generally only found in museums.
Canadian paper money issued in the 1800s is unique in that different bills were issued by different provinces. The Island of Saint John (later known as Prince Edward Island), Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Newfoundland, Canada and Alberta issued separate bills. All of these monies are rarely available to collectors, including British Army Bills that were issued between 1813 and 1818 as a an emergency because of The War of 1812. They’re all highly valuable and extremely rare, though occasionally Newfoundland bills and some Alberta bills from 1936 become available. Municipal notes, like those issued beginning in 1821 in Saint John, New Brunswick, are also very rare and hard to find.
Bank notes are the most readily available collectible Canadian paper money, though certain specimens are still very difficult to find. But bank issues are the best place for beginning collectors to start, and the best way to enhance an existing collection. Proof and specimen notes do show up in auctions occasionally, but they’re very rare and command high prices. Notes with the lowest serial numbers were usually kept as souvenirs by banking insiders, making them rare and valuable today.
Notes issued during 1837 and 1838 were often distributed by merchants who were sympathetic to the Patriots, because there was a limited amount of coins in circulation. These are great for Canadian paper money collectors, especially those interested in Canada’s history. They’re readily found in online auctions in varying conditions, and while some specific examples might be rare, even these usually spring up and become available at less cost than other rare types of notes.
While they never had monetary value and weren’t technically Canadian paper money, notes issued by business colleges in the late 19th century and early 20th century were used during training. And merchant advertising notes that also had no value, but are also an interesting part of Canadian history, are highly collectible today.
Old Canadian paper money can rarely be found in anything better than fine condition, with most of the older and more scarce bills usually in much worse shape. When looking at money to purchase, certainly the condition is important, but since so much of the older currency is in less than fine condition, a collector shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to purchase even a worn but older and possibly hard to find bill.
Originally posted 2008-10-12 14:00:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts -
Canadian Coins Coins and Paper Money -> Coins: Canada -> Commemorative Whether you are from Canada, or just interested in collecting Canadian coins, there are plenty of options out there and many of these coins are actually quite valuable. Before you get started with your collection, it’s a good idea to know...... - Paper Money Coins and Paper Money -> Paper Money: US -> United States Notes Paper money has a long and varied history that dates back centuries. Although we are used to dealing with paper money on a constant basis it was not too long ago that it wasn’t even used. Let’s take......
- World Coins Money -> Coins: World Collecting world coins is a rewarding and fascinating hobby. The first official coins were struck around the 6th century BC in Lydia, though metals used as a type of currency far pre-dates that, to Mesopotamia somewhere between 1500 and 2000 BC. Ancient coinage is fascinating, with......
- Palladium Coins Coins and Paper Money -> Bullion -> Platinum and Palladium Palladium coins are extremely rare and they are one of the most valuable types of money that you can collect. If you have never heard of palladium before, or if you are curious as to what these coins are, there......
- Federal Reserve Notes Coins and Paper Money -> Paper Money: US -> Large Size Notes -> Federal Reserve Notes One of the most interesting collectibles in the field of coins and paper money are federal reserve notes. However, there is quite a bit of confusion out there about what these notes really are.......
Related Websites -
how to save money on air conditioning In 1997, the average home in the Northeast spent approximately $1,700 per year on energy. In the Department of Energy study, this spending was broken down into four categories: Space heating, electric air-conditioning, water heating and appliances operation. I was surprised by the ratios, since my original thought for this...... - Guest Post - 15 Ways to Pay Less & Get More This is a guest post by David of Cartridge Save. He shares tips for getting more while paying less. Businesses and individuals alike have been impacted by the recession. The cost of living has skyrocketed and buying even the most basic of necessities has become a costly affair. It's not......
-
Keeping Your Teeth Clean and Your Wallet Full When I was a teenager, I rarely ever brushed my teeth and drank far too much soda. My mouth really never forgave me since then. It wasnât until high-school that it sank in my head that I needed to brush my teeth every day, and my parents ended up paying...... - Hm, I should check my inbox more often I finally logged in to my TreasuryDirect account in order to schedule a purchase, and discovered that I had a notification waiting for me there. It said, "Treasury is now offering marketable securities at a lower minimum. Treasury Bills, Notes, Bonds and TIPS can now be purchased in TreasuryDirect for......
- From The Archives - January. For those readers who have recently come on board to My Two Dollars or for those of you who may have missed a few of these, here are some articles you may have missed from the past 2 January's. With over 1,200 posts, even I forget about some of them.......
