Where Money Talks—Canada's Currency Museum

Where Money Talks - Canada's Currency Museum

OTTAWA - We associate museums with rooms full of valuable artefacts that visitors quietly navigate as they learn a thing or two about the past. Canada's Currency Museum also contributes to our economic well-being.

It plays a key role in fostering confidence in the cash we use every day, helps us understand the value of money, and to grasp economic concepts that aren't necessarily easily understood.

Polymer Notes

The Museum is the public face of the Bank of Canada, and will play an important role in educating Canadians when a new series of polymer bank notes makes its debut later this year.

You likely take it for granted, but the cash in your wallet is jam packed with technology to protect it against counterfeiting. The Museum helps by showing how to use the security features on our bank notes to identify suspected fakes.

Distinctly Canadian

We think of cash as an everyday tool, a means of obtaining goods and services. But our currency is also about who we are, and each bank note's design reflects a certain time and place rich in Canadian history.

The Currency Museum's other role is to bring that history to life through over 100,000 artefacts of bank notes, coins and other money-related paraphernalia.

From the fur trade and "beaver economics" all the way to our current series which illustrates Canada's journey from exploration to recent innovation, our culture and identity features prominently on our cash.

If Canada's numismatic heritage peaks your interest, the Museum's website is like a virtual museum with access to the vast collection of artefacts.

Exhibitions on Now

In a comic strip format, The Good, the Bad and the Fake is a youth-oriented exhibition that tells the story of two teenagers who stumble onto a bag of money that turns out to be fake. Along with the two teens, you'll learn about counterfeiting, get to handle actual counterfeit notes, and learn the difference between funny money and the real thing.

Penalties of Counterfeiting is not for the faint of heart. This audio tour takes you on a journey through time to learn about the creative tricks of the trade, and the equally creative punishments devised to stop this crime.

Programs Available to Schools/the Public

Not everyone can visit the Museum in person, so several programs about currency and monetary policy are designed to be delivered externally. No classroom or community is out of reach.

Inflation Busters:

A fun and dynamic lesson on how economics affects us all. (for grades 9 to 12, CEGEPs and community colleges)

Safe Money:

A hands-on program about Canada's paper money - which actually arrives on your doorstep in a safe! (for grades 5 to 6)

Counterfeit Detection Kit:

A curriculum - based program that teaches how to tell a real note from a counterfeit. The kit includes engaging activities, presentations and lesson plans, while providing a useful job-readiness skill. (for grades 10-12)

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