$100 Prefixes of HJY and HJZ

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Regarding the release of new Prefixes:

It appears that the Bank of Canada is printing a lot of $100 banknotes these days.  Definitely, this denomination is becoming the workhorse for the people using cash.  I have noticed that in the grocery store, families with children are spending a lot of money for food where a couple with 2 kids in front of me paid a grocery bill of over $400 in $100 banknotes.  It seems that inflation is playing a part of this escalation in prices.  I can remember back in the early 1970's where $20 banknotes replaced the $10 banknote as the note of preference, and this was confirmed by the Multicolour issue of 1969 for the $20 while the Multicolour $10 was issued in 1971.

I had to make a cash payment at the local farm establishment in the Ottawa Valley, and I noticed that I had received from the bank, new $100 banknotes with the prefixes of HJY and HJZ which really surprised me.

It appears that the Bank of Canada is shipping from the front of the vault instead of the back of the vault.  I checked the database where only 2 HJY and 5 HJZ banknotes have been reported, respectively including these the two in my possession.  It is strange that the Bank of Canada has yet to release the prefixes of HJP, HJR, HJS, HJT, HJU and HJV.  One would have thought that the earlier prefixes would be released as in the case of the $5 banknotes where the prefixes of IOA, IOB have been released before a prefix such as IOZ.

I am betting that the prefix of HKA will be released before some of the HJP through V are released.  I am lucky to be close to the major markets of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa as the local banks do get a constant supply of new banknotes.  I wish the Bank of Canada issue more new $5 banknotes as I do see a lot of HBx prefixes in poor condition.

I am wondering if anyone else has seen this before where oddball prefixes are being released.

I have attached proof of these prefixes and these are signed by Rogers and Macklem.

Whitenite

You know, it makes me wonder if $20 notes are no longer the workhorse denomination now, and its heyday is over?  Could that explain the drop in frequency of new $20s in Atlantic Canada?

I also wonder if the $10 note truly is becoming more and more common and is replacing the really old $5 notes due to inflation? I have been seeing the number of new $5 notes drop in Newfoundland even before the Polymer era - in 2009, I believe I only saw three new $5 prefixes, and as time went by it was down to two, then one, now none.  I am afraid that if inflation goes the way it's going, $5 notes might become hard to come by - possibly worse than the $10 note's dark period of 30+ years.  For now, I do still see $5 notes in my change frequently, but it's the same ones juggling around for many, many years and I even see HB* prefixes on occasion and they're not worn out.

I wonder why the $50 never became the workhorse, but the $10 and $20 did?  And I wonder what the demand for $100 notes will be like when MacDonald - a leader nobody seems to respect - replaces Borden's likeness in some years' time?

Also, to the OP, you excluded HJN in your post.

Thanks AJG for stating the omission of the prefix HJN in my post.  You are correct that HJN has yet to be found in the wild.

I have noticed that many of the RBC, Scotiabank and BMO ATM's in the Ottawa Valley are dispensing the range of banknotes which include $5, $20, $50 and $100 which would suggest that the demand for $5 and $50 does exist in some markets of Canada.  Your observation of the $50 banknote not being the workhorse is interesting.  I do agree with you that the most logical banknote after the $20 would have been the $50.  I suspect that the Bank of Canada is following the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing where the US $100 banknote is the most printed banknote in 2024 and it appears to be holding true for 2025.  I suspect that Bank of Canada is trying to fill the international need for Canadian currency.  Many countries do hold actual Bank of Canada banknotes as part of their foreign exchange reserve.  Hence, the issuance of the $100 banknote has been increasing year by year.

Getting back to the $10 banknote, there are some ATM's in Ontario which dispense this banknote in combination with other denominations, but they are getting less in number.

When withdrawing cash from the ATM, I will spend a minute with the machine in trying to get the greatest number of banknotes possible.  I have discovered that the limit for any withdrawal transaction is 50 banknotes.  I do this as one Bank Manager has told me that the polymer banknotes are notorious for sticking together.  I have yet to hit the jackpot where the dispensed withdrawal is greater than the requested withdrawal.

I hope that the younger generations start using actual cash and this will provide the demand for fresh banknotes.

My thoughts, Whitenite

If Scotiabank ATMs in Ontario (particularly Ottawa) are still dispensing $5 notes and no $10s, while such ATMs in Newfoundland and Labrador (and maybe most or all of Atlantic Canada) replaced $5s with $10s, this strongly implies that demand for $10s in Newfoundland and Labrador have likely rebounded thanks to inflation, and results in the lack of need for new $5s which now have much lower demand - otherwise I would have seen some new $5s in the range of INT through INZ in my change by now.

If there are fewer and fewer $10s in Ontario, it's possible that inflation didn't hit Ontario as badly as Newfoundland and Labrador.  I kind of wonder if RBC and TD ATMs in the Maritimes did replace $5s with $10s?

If Scotiabank ATMs in Ontario (particularly Ottawa) are still dispensing $5 notes and no $10s, while such ATMs in Newfoundland and Labrador (and maybe most or all of Atlantic Canada) replaced $5s with $10s, this strongly implies that demand for $10s in Newfoundland and Labrador have likely rebounded thanks to inflation, and results in the lack of need for new $5s which now have much lower demand - otherwise I would have seen some new $5s in the range of INT through INZ in my change by now.

If there are fewer and fewer $10s in Ontario, it's possible that inflation didn't hit Ontario as badly as Newfoundland and Labrador.  I kind of wonder if RBC and TD ATMs in the Maritimes did replace $5s with $10s?

$10 notes (at least in Toronto) are readily available from banks, ATMs and as change from cash registers at stores.  I never have a problem getting as many $10s as I want in Toronto.

The inflation rate for Jan 2026 in Ontario was 2.0% versus Newfoundland, 2.4%.

If people in Newfoundland are using more $10 notes, to make change for small purchases without $5 notes would almost certainly require a larger number of loonies, toonies and quarters to compensate.  Are there new coins showing up in large volumes in the Maritimes?

Regional preference may also play a role in the currency mix.  Do people in the Maritimes prefer to use coins?  If so, then the reduced number of $5 notes could be partially explained.

I know that generally, people prefer to carry fewer notes of higher value in their wallets when using cash rather than numerous low denomination notes.   

Then, there is the obvious; The population of the Maritime provinces in Q4 2025 was 2,692,733 people, of this number, 549,738 people lived in Newfoundland & Labrador.  By contrast, the estimated population of the City of Toronto alone in the 4th quarter of 2025 was 3,270,000 people.

The general trend in society is to use less cash.

The only way to know for sure is to visit several communities around Newfoundland to see if the number and condition of $5 notes is reduced across the province.  A larger sample size would provide a more conclusive pattern in currency use and distribution.



Dean