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This beaten up $1 came into my possession today in a group of notes.

The inscription “Laura +?” Is visible on the bottom margin.

I wonder who “Laura” was and who she was thinking about at the time.

Perhaps it was a young girl who scribbled on her lunch money in the cafeteria at school…

This 1937 $20 has a dated teller stamp of January 6th 1956.  I wonder what was happening on that day?  And it is amazing to think that this note was in circulation after the 1954 modified notes were released!

I purchased this 1900 shinplaster for my collection because somebody had written “New Years 1920” on the back of it.

I wonder why someone would have written on this note over 100 years ago…Perhaps it was given to someone on New Years day and they kept it as a souvenir.  Who knows?  If only these notes could talk…

Dean

I find handwriting extremely detracting to a notes appearance and I would never purchase one because of that...however you have given me pause to re-think my stance. Your note is certainly an acceptable exception to my rule.  Nice one.
Thanks for sharing.

I purchased this 1900 shinplaster for my collection because somebody had written “New Years 1920” on the back of it.

I wonder why someone would have written on this note over 100 years ago…Perhaps it was given to someone on New Years day and they kept it as a souvenir.  Who knows?  If only these notes could talk…

Dean

Nice. New Year's 1920 was a happy time. After WWI and the Spanish Flu pandemic, people were looking forward to a new decade. The War Measures Act that had been invoked for WWI was still in place and was set to expire at midnight. Here are a couple of ads from the December 31, 1919 Vancouver Province on what that shinplaster might have bought:

Nice. New Year's 1920 was a happy time. After WWI and the Spanish Flu pandemic, people were looking forward to a new decade. The War Measures Act that had been invoked for WWI was still in place and was set to expire at midnight. Here are a couple of ads from the December 31, 1919 Vancouver Province on what that shinplaster might have bought:

Those are cool newspaper clippings!

New Year's 1920...Over 100 years ago.  My great Grandfather came to Canada in November 1918--just after the armistice--The 1900 dated shinplaster was in general circulation at that time!  It's amazing to look at it and how long it has survived.

I am just a custodian of history...

I purchased this 1937 $5 note…it has the names of three member of the same family written in nice cursive writing around the margins on the back of the note.

Joseph Lemire, Noella Lemire and Alfred Lemire.

Judging by the Coyne-Towers signatures on the note, it was printed anywhere between 1950-1954.
It may have remained in circulation until the late 1950s or early 1960s…or even later…who knows?

The Lemire surname seems to be fairly common…I wonder who these people were?

This is why defaced notes are so fascinating to me.

Enjoy!

I found an autographed journey $10 and its consecutively numbered partner note in the mutilated pile at one of my banks today!

I was really surprised to find it, and saddened that somebody probably deposited a collection which is why these notes got crinkled up…. 😫

But, I am happy to have saved from the shredder this note signed by former Governor of the Bank of Canada, Gordon Thiessen!

It will be a highlight of my collection.

Enjoy!
Dean

I got these roughed up $1 notes from one of my banks today.
They could be “friendship notes” that are torn in half, with each person keeping their half until reunited with their friend.

Or, they could be just plain old worn out notes that should have been returned for shredding.  In any case,  the one note clearly shows the damage that adhesive tape can cause to a note.

Maybe Seth has an opinion about these notes…

Enjoy!
Dean

I purchased this amazing note for my collection and I was very excited to receive it today!

It is an impaired 1935 English $1 note that has a small stain and a small cut in the top margin.

However, it bears the inscription: “David Evans Mch 13, 1935”.

To history buffs, this note was autographed by this person only two days after the official opening of the Bank of Canada!. This note must have been one of the first Bank of Canada notes ever released into circulation…

This note is a jewel in my collection…I wonder who David Evans was?

Enjoy!
Dean

January 26th 2022:
Another year, another shinplaster with interesting manuscript!

I purchased this 1900 Dominion shinplaster that has “Apple Hill Nov 11 1923” written on the back.

According to Google, Apple Hill is a small hamlet in the township of North Glengarry, Ontario.

It is neat to see a 1900 series shinplaster dated 1923; at the same time, the “new” 1923 shinplasters were being issued to replace the 1900 design.

It is also neat to think that someone signed this note on Remembrance Day 1923 perhaps in memory of a loved one lost in the Great War. 

If only these notes could talk…

Enjoy!

Dean

March 16th 2022.

I received these notes in a banknote pickup from one of my regular banks.

This 1937 $10 has a "paid" stamp on it.  I wonder what the note was used to pay?  $10 was a lot of money in the late 1940s-early 1950s (Judging by the signatures on the note).

Also included in this lot were three 1954 modified notes; they all have manuscript that indicates that these notes were given as birthday money to someone (presumably a kid) in January 1973.  One of the $2s is torn at the corner and I think it might have been glued into an album for some time. 

The fact that these notes ended up being deposited to the bank after being treasured keepsakes for so long is sad.  It just goes to show you that while your collection might mean the world to you, it's "just money" to 99% of people on the planet and after you pass away, your beneficiaries will probably do the same thing to your collection unless explicit instructions are left to have the collection appraised before selling.

Enjoy the pictures,
Dean

A rough life...

I got this note in a bank note pickup today.  It has lived a rough life; it's more like tissue paper than banknote paper but in a way, I find that interesting. 

It was in the mutilated banknote pile, but why wasn't it culled decades ago?  From the Lawson-Bouey signatures, this is a very late 1954 $2 printed between March of 1973 when Lawson was appointed as Senior Deputy Governor and August of 1975, when the multicolour $2 was released.

To find this note in 2022 even in such bad shape could have been because the note was kept for sentimental purposes; there's no reason to keep it otherwise.

Does anybody else have any thoughts on this note?

Enjoy!

Dean

Date stamped 1954 devil’s face $1

I purchased this note as part of a lot of devil’s face $1s.  The seller told me that he did not like teller stamped notes.  It’s funny that the best condition note in the lot is the one with the stamp on it…Sept 9, 1954…toward the end of Graham Towers’ tenure as Governor of the Bank of Canada.

Enjoy!
Dean

I bought this note for my collection and it arrived in the mail today.

It’s a 1954 devil’s face $10, well worn and missing a couple of planchettes.  Normally, I would pass on a note like this but I saw that it had a teller stamp on it.

It reads: For deposit to the credit of the T. Eaton Co.

Now if only I could figure out who the stamped signature belongs to…

This note is a relic of a time when most transactions were done in cash and for big companies like Eaton’s, there must have been daily deposits of millions of dollars in cash.

Most collectors turn their backs on stamped notes or notes that have manuscript.  I think that they are cool because they capture an instant in the life of a banknote.

Enjoy!
Dean