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May 12th mail call:
A good trade!

I traded $2 for two $1 notes.  The first has markings with “WH Eth Dec 25 1973” and “10.00 in 1978” written in the right hand margin on the back.  Any help in deciphering this message is appreciated!

The second note was defaced recently…by the guy who traded with me!  He went to his credit union and had them stamp this circulated 1967 $1 with their transit number.  I did not ask him to do this; the person just thought I might enjoy another stamped note. 

He even offered to drive around and get bank stamps from other banks in his area, but I declined, explaining that it was vintage bank stamps that I was looking for and not contemporary ones.  Oh well, I guess after enough time passes, this stamped note will be vintage too!

It’s interesting that the first note was marked on Christmas day, 1973; just a few months before the multicolour $1s began to be issued.

The note was issued somewhere between 1971-1973 and it has the S/F prefix, signed by Bouey and Rasminsky.

Not bad for two bucks plus postage, eh?

Enjoy!
Dean

May 19th:

I got this stamped note at the bank in my finds today.  You don’t often see oval teller stamps…
I wonder where it’s from?

All that is legible is the number 28.

Enjoy!
Dean

May 24th finds:

Upon closer inspection of the mountie $50s I got from a bank today, I noticed that two of them were stamped.

The first note has the infamous “pink stamp of death” from the 1980s-90s.
Barely legible, I believe it has the date 04 06 1985…April 6th or June 4th, 1985 and Bank of Nova Scotia, although the stamp is so blurry, I could be wrong.

The second note has a partial teller stamp with a transit number. 00323-002
When I looked it up, it revealed the location!

Scotiabank
37787 Cabot Trail,
Ingonish Beach
Nova Scotia
B0C 1L0

Pretty neat, eh?

Enjoy!
Dean

May 26th finds:

Three cool notes that had interesting lives.

In my haul today, I had two 1973 $1s with yellowed paper. In my experience, this happens in two ways:

1.  The note was between pages of a book and the acid from the paper colours the banknote.

Or…

2.  Somebody had the note mounted in a display.

One of the $1s has tape on the margins and the paper is torn, indicating that the note was removed from a mount.  The other $1 note has no tape on it, but it has the same degree of yellowing.

Displaying “lucky dollars” is a common practice in restaurants and other businesses.

The $20 note has a message written in pencil on the front and again on the back.

It reads “1st salary” “Cris 03-15-93”.  So, some kid saved the first bit of money he ever earned from his first job on March 15th 1993.  Unfortunately, the note has a tear in the top left corner, but it doesn’t diminish the cool factor one bit!

This was written after the Birds $20s were issued, but multicolour $20s persisted in circulation for many years after the Birds series came out.

Enjoy!

Dean

June 7th find:

Sometimes, you find notes that you completely forgot about.  This happened to me today when I rediscovered this Birds $2 note in my collection.

It has the infamous “pink stamp of death” from the 1980s…and it is remarkably clear after all these years.

I remember receiving this note from my mom in the 1980s…She kept it because she thought the stamp was cool.

Here is what I see:

03902 001
Bank of Montreal
Yonge & Queen
Toronto
Ontario

The date is a bit harder to read…If anybody can help me to figure it out, I’d really appreciate it!

Enjoy,
Dean

August 16th finds:

I picked up two interesting $20 notes at the bank today.

The birds $20 has “Celestica” written in the top right corner.  I know that this is a technology company, but why would someone write this name on a banknote?

The 1979 $20 is much more interesting.  On the front, a teller had written the numbers 26 and 13.  The numbers appear to be written in the same ink so it can be assumed that they were written by the same person at around the same time.

On the back, there is much more information.  On the top margin, written in blue ink are the words “dip” and “liquore” (sic).

This $20 appears to be someone’s shopping list.  I know that “dip” is another term for chewing tobacco.

We’re not finished yet!  This 1979 $20 is the gift that keeps on giving!  Vertically printed on the front of the note is the infamous “pink stamp of death” from the 1980s/90s.

The stamp is very faint and all I can make out is the institution number 003 which is the Bank of Nova Scotia.

If there are any collectors who are also forensic document examiners, I would appreciate your help!  There are ways to view ink under different wavelengths of light to make them legible.

It’s amazing how much information and how much history can be present on one bank note!

Enjoy,
Dean

August 17th:

I took a closer look at the 1954 $100s I found yesterday.  One of them had the year 1973 written on the Queen’s cheek and the number 2 on the back.

This note is signed Beattie/Coyne and would have been printed between 1955-1961.  It’s cool that this note persisted in circulation until 2023, and it was already old in 1973.

It goes to show that high denomination notes lasted a lot longer, presumably because not many people used them.

Enjoy!
Dean

We’re not finished yet!  This 1979 $20 is the gift that keeps on giving!  Vertically printed on the front of the note is the infamous “pink stamp of death” from the 1980s/90s.

The stamp is very faint and all I can make out is the institution number 003 which is the Bank of Nova Scotia.

"Dip" could also just be dip(s) for chips.

Also, could you fill a newbie in on what the "pink stamp of death" is?

Thanks!
- Cory

"Dip" could also just be dip(s) for chips.

Also, could you fill a newbie in on what the "pink stamp of death" is?

Thanks!
- Cory

Hi Cory,

Sure, “Dip” could be simple dip for chips, but I made an assumption that it was chewing tobacco because the other item is liquor. 🤣

What I call the “pink stamp of death” is a type of teller cancellation stamp that looks to be machine applied.  It was in wide use during the 1980s and 1990s by all of the chartered banks.

See the examples here:

Dean

PS:  If you (or anybody else) has notes with the pink stamp, any teller stamp or any notes with hand written items on them, please send me a PM if you are willing to sell them.

August 17th finds:

A phone number…

I saw this phone number written on the back margin of one of the $1 notes I found today.  It was written before the days of 10-digit dialling.

A quick internet search (using the 416 area code) brings up an investment company!

Of course, this number could have been from any area code anywhere in the country so who knows?  Maybe some lucky person got someone’s number at a party… Let’s hope it worked out!🤣🤣🤣

Enjoy,
Dean

August 17th: Mail call…

If finding a boatload of paper money today wasn’t enough, my mail held another surprise for me.

I bought these defaced notes:

A 1973 $1 that has a stamp on both sides in big, bold, red ink “Save the world, not money” and “innocent victims” stamped on the back.  Any feedback on this note is appreciated.  It’s obviously a protest note of some sort…

A 1954 $2 with a purple bank stamp from June 1 197…8?  The last digit is hard to make out.  It’s nice to know that this $2 survived well into the issue of the 1974 multicoloured $2s.

The seller included two other notes at face value…Another 1973 $1 with a partial teller stamp.  At first glance, there isn’t much of anything…until you look closely and see the remnants of “002” which is the institution number of the Bank of Nova Scotia!

Finally, there is another 1954 $2 with the number 48 scrawled on it in pencil.  This was a common practice by tellers who had to manually count bank notes in the old days.

Enjoy!
Dean

August 17th:
More pictures from the last post.

August 17th:

Another defaced note!

On closer inspection of the $1 notes I found today, there was this one with the name “Liana Aichwalder” written in black marker on the back of the note.

Wow…today’s haul is the gift that keeps on giving…

Enjoy!
Dean

PS:  If you (or anybody else) has notes with the pink stamp, any teller stamp or any notes with hand written items on them, please send me a PM if you are willing to sell them.

Thanks for that info Dean. I haven't encountered a pink stamp yet, but will be on the lookout.
I did, however, come across an otherwise unc BC-63c with a prominent black teller stamp on the front.

Thanks for that info Dean. I haven't encountered a pink stamp yet, but will be on the lookout.
I did, however, come across an otherwise unc BC-63c with a prominent black teller stamp on the front.

Hi Cory,

I believe your $10 note passed through this bank: The digits are incomplete so this is my best guess…

Royal Bank of Canada
Kingsway & Joyce Branch
3318 Kingsway
Vancouver, BC
V5R 5K7

Transit number 06840-003

If you would like to sell/trade this note, please send me a PM

Thanks!
Dean