Bank of Canada Museum
30 Bank Street K1A 0G9 Ottawa, ON, Canada

#DYK in 1858, the Province of Canada’s first coins were put in circulation: 1, 5, 10 and 20 cent coins. Until that time, we used whatever British, French, US, Spanish, Portuguese or Dutch coins were floating around the economy. This coin is a trial strike, a test coin made with a copper/nickel alloy. 1 cent, test strike, Canada, 1858

American baseball legend Joe DiMaggio was born #OTD in 1914. Many of his batting records remained unbroken until the 2000s. The game is also very popular in Taiwanso much so, the Taiwanese issued a note themed on baseball in 1999. Joltin’ Joe might have loved that. 500 yuan, Taiwan, 2000

Onondeyoh (Frederick Ogilvie Loft) was a Mohawk chief, First World War veteran and activist. He founded the first pan-Canadian Indigenous organization to advocate for the protection and expansion of Indigenous rights. He is one of the eight #bankNOTEable Canadians who could appear on the next $5 bank note. http://ow.ly/2Dhd50Cv0PM

ICYMI: Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle said Canadians should be confident that the Bank and its partners are doing their part to keep Canada’s #financial system resilient. #cdnecon #economy https://www.bankofcanada.ca//taking-pulse-of-canada-fina/

Depending upon how you define one, we’ve featured mountains on 12 of our bank notes. This image shows Mt. Sarbach in Banff National Park, it was short-listed as a choice of image to appear on one of the 1954 bills. #InternationalMountainDay Photograph, Canadian Pacific Railway, Canada, 195053

Robertine Barry (Françoise) was the first female French-Canadian journalist and an advocate for many social justice causes, especially women’s equality in society. She is one of the eight #bankNOTEable Canadians who could appear on the next $5 bank note. http://ow.ly/u9hv50CmQ79

#OTD in 1963, Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their research on polymers. Our bank notes are printed on a polymer material such as this 45-note sheet that already has the holographic foil applied. $100, polymer sheet, Canada, 2011

Swedish King Charles XI was born #OTD in 1655. A great modernizer of military, social, political and religious sectors, he was also an absolute ruler or dictator. It is said he used to disguise himself as a citizen and travel from town to town investigating corruptionespecially in the Church. #TriviaTuesday 1 mark, Sweden, 1696

#OTD in 1929, the New York Stock Exchange crashed, heralding the beginning of the Great Depression. It also among the reasons for the creation of the Bank of Canada, which opened its doors six years later. This strip of ticker tape from that era indicates a new record set for total sales in the early days of the depression. High sales in the stock market meant extensive trading forcing the price of stocks to fall. Ticker tape, Canada, 1930

Today is the National Day of Monaco. Traditionally, the date was chosen by the reigning prince in honour of the saint he was named for. Prince Rainier III, on this coin, naturally chose to honour St. Rainier. This coin is from the first of his 56-year reign. 20 francs, Principality of Monaco, 1950

We have maintained our policy interest rate at 0.25%. Find out more. https://www.bankofcanada.ca//fad-press-release-2020-12-09/

Isapo-muxika (Crowfoot), a leader of the Blackfoot Confederacy, was known for his diplomacy and advocating for peace between Indigenous nations and with settlers. He is one of the eight #bankNOTEable Canadians who could appear on the next $5 bank note. http://ow.ly/lDsj50Cv0Ah

What you need to know about the Bank of Canada’s assessment of the Canadian economy. https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2020/10/mpr-2020-10-28/

Binaaswi (Francis Pegahmagabow) was an advocate for Indigenous rights in Canada and the most highly-decorated Indigenous soldier in Canadian history. He is one of the eight #bankNOTEable Canadians who could appear on the next $5 bank note. http://ow.ly/uLP650CsFtC

For #FinancialLiteracyMonth, teach your kids about budgeting and spending. They’ll love building these puppetsbut they have to do so on a budget! #FLM2020 Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) Download the plans. https://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca/2020/04/avatar-market/

To fulfill its monetary policy mandate, the Bank of Canada needs to understand the implications of #climatechange for economic growth and #inflation. Governor Tiff Macklem explains in his remarks to @ppforumca http://ow.ly/XkF650CnfQ5

Making Sense of Currencies: foreign currency, shipping ratesit’s not like shopping at the mall. Help your kids understand the factors involved in buying online in this fun activity from the Museum. https://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca//making-sense-of-curre/

The Bank of Canada’s policy interest rate affects the entire economy. Learn about the Bank’s decision to maintain the key rate at 0.25% and how it’s supporting Canada’s economy throughout the recovery from the #COVID19 pandemic. https://www.bankofcanada.ca//fad-press-release-2020-10-28/

As of January 1, 2021, you may not be able to use some older bank notes in transactions. Learn which ones here: http://ow.ly/JR0150CogGQ

The Dutch leeuwendaalder was a popular coin in the American Dutch territories. It translates as lion thalera thaler being a large, European silver coin. Because the English colonists pronounced daalder as dollar, it is considered, along with thaler, one of the origins of the term dollar. By the way, Amsterdam was founded #OTD in 1275. 1 daalder, Netherlands, 1648

#OTD in 1869, the Suez Canal officially opened. It wasn’t the first attempt to join the Mediterranean and Red seas. The earliest was more than 3,000 years ago. This token commemorates the Suez Canal, though it hadn’t been completed at the time the token was issued. #TriviaTuesday 1 franc, token, Ch. & A. Bazin, Egypt, 1865

Pitseolak Ashoona created lively, vivid art that reflects the old ways of the Inuit of the Eastern Arctic. Her work is prized across Canada and around the world. She is one of the eight #bankNOTEable Canadians who could appear on the next $5 bank note. http://ow.ly/rsGB50Cmckv

#OTD in 1901, 63-year-old Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to survive going over the Niagara Falls in a barrel. She could have saved the bother, dug a token out of her purse and taken the Niagara Gorge Railroad. And the view would have been far better. 1 fare, token, International Railway Co., Niagara Falls, USA

Who are the men on the back of the 1975 $2 bill? See the blog to learn about Joseph Idlout and his family. https://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca//the-story-behind-the-/

#DYK that buttons were sometimes used as money when currency was scarceespecially in the military? However, like in the case of this token, money has also been used as buttons. It’s #CountYourButtonsDay, and if your buttons are made of money, you certainly should be counting them. Bouquet sou, Montréal, Canada, 19th century

Money reflects identity. Cowrie shells were successful international currency 2,500 years ago, but they lacked local identity. So, China developed currency that resembled the shapes of tools they used in their agrarian society. This knife-shaped money had a rounded end with hole through which one could string on a belt. Because such shapes were not comfortable to carry about, they later became round coins with a hole in the middle. #TriviaTuesday Knife money, China, 600-400 BCE

The Bank of Canada’s next scheduled interest rate decision is on October 28. The Bank will also release an analysis of the economic impact of #COVID19 on Canada’s #economy. #cdnecon Mark your calendars. http://ow.ly/9lOn50BXrxd

Researchers at the Bank of Canada thrive on statistics, so they get really excited about #WorldStatisticsDay. Check out the new explainer on the consumer price index, one of the most important stats for the Bank. Image: Miki Yoshihito, Wikimedia https://www.bankofcanada.ca//understanding-consumer-price/

It’s #AlaskaDay. The United States took possession of Alaska from Russia #OTD in 1867. Paper was scarce up there, so the Russian-American Company printed its scrip (company-issued money) on sealskin parchment. It was a fur trading organization, after all. 10 kopeks, 184246, Russian Alaska

In the autumn of 1857, the weight of the new, silver, Canadian 20-cent piece was officially set at 71.73 grains (4.7 grams). For many years, the Bank of Canada used scales like this highly accurate balance scale to evaluate silver and gold coins and raw bullion. Scale, L. Oertling Ltd, Great Britain, 1905

#OTD in 1989, Wayne Gretzky surpassed Gordie Howe as the NHL’s scoring champion. In an unprecedented gesture, Gretzky was inducted into the Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame the very day he retired in 1999. The Hockey Hall of Fame is now housed in what used to be the Bank of Montreal branch on Front Street in Toronto, featured on this note. 10 dollars, Bank of Montreal, Canada, 1938

You can’t put gold in your soup. Because of its high value and usefulness, salt was used as a medium of exchange in parts of Asia and Africa. Salt makes curious money. For a start, it readily dissolves in water and it can be very crumbly. Even so, it has great advantages over gold. With salt you can clean wounds, preserve meat and flavour supper. Roman soldiers received a measure of salt with their pay. And now you know the root word for salary. #TriviaTuesday Salt brick, Ethiopia, 20th century https://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca//1981.0/ethiopia-1-amoli