Provincial notes being redeemed 2013-2016

News: Welcome to the Canadian Paper Money Forum.

The Bank of Canada note liabilities table at the wiki site shows the number of provincial notes (Province of Canada, Dominion of Newfoundland, colonial treasury notes, Alberta Prosperity Certificates) to be at $28,000 in face value every year from 1991 to 2012. No surprise that it doesn't change; who would be crazy enough to deposit these valuable notes?

Well, some people must be, because the latest statistics are out and since 2013, the liability on provincial notes has been dropping by $1,000 every year and is now at $24,000.

Page 96:
http://www.bankofcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/bfs_february17.pdf

WHAT is going on? 

Interesting, Seth.  I would not doubt that some executor found some notes, thinking they have no value and were more than happy to get face value for them at a bank.

Here is the snapshot of page 96.

This is $1,000 in face value of provincial notes being redeemed every year for the last four years. Even if these were all the most common and least valuable notes in this category (1920 Dominion of Newfoundland treasury notes), we're still talking ~$1M in collector value.

Could the Bank of Canada simply be buying these up for the National Currency Collection and writing the liabilities off the books? Spending that kind of cash would be a big story all its own.

Could the Bank of Canada simply be buying these up for the National Currency Collection and writing the liabilities off the books? Spending that kind of cash would be a big story all its own.

Could collectors or their estates be donating it anonymously? Is it possible that some of these notes may be held by institutions?