Where is the uncirculated money?

News: Welcome to the Canadian Paper Money Forum.

Thanks for all the replies.  Keep them coming.  See the first post where I will condense the information.

Kind Regards,
OneTime

I am getting confused:

The bank cannot control what BOC sends so bricks may come in as all used notes or a mix of CIRC/UNC.
…
At the TD they told me to try the RBC as they have a contract with the BOC and they are the only ones that can order in uncirculated

that's no true in terms of RBC being the only ones getting UNC bricks. Most of the time they'll do it for a small fee, but only if you know them well.

Which one is it?
Can the bank (say RBC) help their good relationship bricker orders a UNC brick, or is the brick going to be random CIRC/UNC? Btw, do the brick come in sealed? Thank you.

As long as you specify that you want "brand new uncirculated" notes they will place that order for you from the BOC. As mentioned, a small fee will apply.

Forgot to mention, yes new uncirculated bricks come sealed and strapped.

Here are the facts:
Any bank or trust company can order bricks of new uncirculated notes if they want to.
It is just that either they are not familiar with the process on how to do it, can't be bothered to find out, or just don't want to...and say they can't

MYTH : RBC is NOT the only bank that can get bricks....

The biggest problems that exist for getting bricks are for security/safety issues where a bank does not want the risk to them or customers to have cash in the bank that they don't really want or need...
and money laundering as they say....which is a Fintrac issue where to many transactions, especially of high value set up flags and create problems up the ladder..
Even if you know someone at the bank it may be out of their hands eventually ...everyone has someone to answer to and no one wants the responsibilty if all it is, is an extra hassle for them...

Even brickers that get and order new bricks will sometimes get circulated notes by error, but I know in my case if any bricks are circulated you do not pay for them since it is not what you ordered...I can't speak for others on this issue...
I have bricked since the early 80's and you will always have your ups and downs....its the nature of the beast.....

FRIEDSQUID

Forgot to mention, yes new uncirculated bricks come sealed and strapped.

Not all new bricks come sealed and strapped....
Some are repackaged in bags, and/or bundled with elastic bands....

FRIEDSQUID

Here are the facts:
Any bank or trust company can order bricks of new uncirculated notes if they want to.

Anyone know if this applies to (provincially regulated) credit unions too?  Or is it only the federally regulated banks and trust companies that can order from the BoC?

Anyone know if this applies to (provincially regulated) credit unions too?  Or is it only the federally regulated banks and trust companies that can order from the BoC?

I know Libro Credit Union can provide bricks so I would think that others could as well
FRIEDSQUID

Just for semantics, most banks don't actually order the bricks directly from BoC right when an individual or branch requests them. Banks have a their own facilities where they have an existing quantity of bricks on hand. Should they not have enough THEN they would have to order it from BoC

Yes that is true ...the bricks come from a central depot or treasury branch for that bank

Thank you for the clarifications. Now I understand some of the inconsistencies involved…

In answer to the original question, I think that this is the time of year when traditionally new notes are released because people are demanding nice new bills to go into envelopes and cards.  Perhaps if there is an overstock of notes at the printing companies we'll see more new notes as overall demand goes up.

If you can't get to a casino, perhaps you may want to befriend a senior citizen.  They always seen to get the nicest bills!

Banks do seem to have more crisp bills around December for Xmas; also in city which have chinatown, the banks there tends to have some new bills near Chinese New Year.

earlier in the thread someone mentioned 100 bills in a band...we usually refer to this as a bundle (10 bundles to a brick)
also my understanding has always been that even if someone finds what they believe to be a replacement note (unconfirmed) in a bundle that they received it will not be used as part of a confirmation...you must obtain a new sealed/wrapped brick since bundles can be easily tampered with intentionally or not....

Haven't seen brand new 20s for a very long time... used to get them quite frequently from ATMs. All the 20s I've been getting have been worn and dirty. 

I've had better luck with getting brand new 50s, I get them every time I withdraw enough $ from ATMs. I've also been getting bundles of new $5s and $10s from RBC branches all around the GTA, I just ask them beforehand before exchanging bills.