Insert/Replacement Notes

News: Welcome to the Canadian Paper Money Forum.

Sorry about my unclarity on this topic, but how do we identify a replacement/note in the new journey series?

If I recall correctly, they are notes numbered over 9million?  Is this correct?

I have a new $20 and it's numbered over 9Million and I'm wondering if it is a replacement.  Thanks in advance.

If only it were that simple....

Replacements can come from anywhere, and the number ranges can vary greatly.

The best way to check your note is to check the High/Lows section on this site.  One of our members has a great site as well, but the address escapes me at this time.....can someone else provide this?

I as a non-insert collector, would like to get other's imput on their reasons why they collect inserts in the first place. Old school replacements, I can understand because you have the asterix or the X which differentiates these notes from all others making them LOOK special. I can't grasp for the life of me the attraction of inserts, without the knowledge of the range of notes they fall on, they are just common serial numbers identical to any other common note...  So my question is, why collect? You all know the day will come soon enough when the printing companies start to distribute the bills in non-sequential order, so what will happen then?


Haku

If only it were that simple....

Replacements can come from anywhere, and the number ranges can vary greatly.

The best way to check your note is to check the High/Lows section on this site.  One of our members has a great site as well, but the address escapes me at this time.....can someone else provide this?

Here it is: http://gwfedora.tripod.com/ it's sudzee's site

I agree with Kinghaku.  Despite having a relatively comprehensive collection of asterisks and "X" replacements (enough that I can call it my "niche") I have stayed away from inserts with a "10 foot pole".   They do nothing for me.  

One day an alternate explanation for the distribution of notes within a bundle will come out, and the concept of the "insert" will be history replaced with a tangible reason for "shuffling" of the sheets before cutting. Who knows.  

Thanks for all your responses!

I really wonder why they changed to the new system.  Could it be to confuse collectors and to subdue all the "commotion" with replacement notes?

Thanks for all your responses!

I really wonder why they changed to the new system.  Could it be to confuse collectors and to subdue all the "commotion" with replacement notes?
 

I think that's what the Bank of Canada had in mind...they have probably known for years that collectors were hoarding the * and X notes and just recently decided to discontinue them so that fewer notes would be kept out of circulation.

If the Bank of Canada had some sort of record of which serial numbers they used as "inserts", that might lend some credibility to this area of collecting...but then again if the serial numbers were publicly known, the hoarding would get out of hand again.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I don't give a flying duck <quack!> about inserts, but I do miss asterisk notes.  The X notes were some consolation for losing those cool "star notes", but now, at least for me, the replacement note is dead

I think that's what the Bank of Canada had in mind...they have probably known for years that collectors were hoarding the * and X notes and just recently decided to discontinue them so that fewer notes would be kept out of circulation.

I suspect this is correct, but my question is why would it matter?  The mint and post office cater to the collector.  If they sell a few million dollars worth of stamps or coins, bullion, first day covers, specimen sets etc etc at well over face value.  They have the income/cash flow from these but no particular obligation (beyond face value) as they are "out of circulation".  Bhutan and Nepal will make stamps and coins with images of Elvis & Princess Diana solely for this purpose.  Now I wouldn't want BofC to stoop that low, but why can't they make a few commemmorative bank notes...  what about a special $100 bill for the 100th anniversary of Sask and Alberta?  Is Scotland can honour Jack Nicklaus with a commemorative note why can't we honour Pierre Berton?  And finally, the US still uses star notes for replacements, why does the BofC have to create such a complex system for replacements rather than just  using asterisks or "X" notes.  So what if they get scooped by collectors?

The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing also publishes monthly production reports on their website giving exact serial number ranges of all notes produced in that month, including star notes. It is very helpful and prompt. But, that's the US. I wish the BoC would do something similar.

Hey All,

I think collecting Insert Notes can be somewhat fun. Whenever i go to the ATM machine and withdraw money,sometimes I got  some UNC notes from ATM ,then I keep those UNC notes and wait till next year's Charlton catalogue and see whether there are some insert notes .I actually got some for the past few years.
All you need is patience and luck.

Dcollector111

That's a long time to wait before you can spend your withdrawal.  I'd recommend that you check the high lows section of this site as most of the known inserts are identified there thanks to the dedication of a bunch (not me) of dedicated CPMF members who get bricks and meticulously examine the pattern of serial numbers in the bricks.

Thanks Eyevet for reminding me to check the high low section of this forum.

Dcollector111

This might be straying a bit off-topic but it just occurred to me...

I wonder if those of us who are (desperately?) clinging to the new generation of "replacement" notes are the same people who advocate for several grades of UNC and a numbered system of paper grading?

It certainly appears that the temperaments of the "neo-replacement collectors" and the "neo-graders" are similar...expending excessive amounts of time and energy painstakingly trying to figure out 1) is this a replacement note? and 2) what grade is this note?

I'm afraid I belong to the school of collectors who adhere to the KISS principle:

1) replacement note = * or X in the serial number.

2) grade = UNC, AU, EF, VF, F, VG, G, Fair or Poor - with the allowance for in-between grades such as G/VG and F/VF.

The CPMS seems to allow for a "Choice UNC" category when they say that "Premiums may be applied to the more desirable exceptionally centred and strongly embossed [UNC] notes."

However, if CPMS says for UNC notes that "mention must be made if the design is not perfectly centred with the usual width of margins", how can you have an "exceptionally centred" note that commands a premium?  How can you improve upon "perfectly centred"? :-/

eyevet, I think Canada Post's and the Royal Canadian Mint's sale of collector's sets/items are not quite analogous to the Bank of Canada's production of replacement notes.

Canada Post doesn't care if someone buys up all the 10 cent stamps because they can just print more to sell, as postage is not part of the money supply and doesn't influence the economy.

The Mint produces items expressly for sale to collectors {how else could you get an 8-cent coin? }.  True, circulation coins are part of the money supply, so I expect the economy could get screwed up if people started hoarding certain denominations of coins for some reason.

However the BofC's intent with * and X notes was to replace other notes damaged in production, so I expect the BofC thought it was pointless to continue producing these notes - which were intended to be used in circulation - if most of them were never going to circulate as part of the money supply.  Why spend 7-8 cents to produce a note if one person is going to end up taking it and socking it away somewhere?

I guess the BofC could go the route of the RCM and try to cater to collectors - they have made this concession in the past by selling uncut sheets of notes and the "Lasting Impressions" sets.  I suppose they could print individual, or sheets of, * or X notes for sale, but then for many people this might kill the fun of seeking/collecting replacement notes, as might an "error note" manufactured and sold by the BofC {but at least then you'd have a genuine error, not like that double-denomination "error note" that sold on eBay with a $5 image ink-jet printed on a $20 bill!}

But I don't see why the BofC cannot, as you suggest, print more varieties of commemorative notes to mark important dates, events or people in Canadian history...the BofC must have known that the majority of 1967 $1 notes would not be spent...what's wrong with commemorating a provincial anniversary?  I don't know about a note to honour Pierre Berton, though - certain groups may boycott the note and refuse to accept it.  This gentleman showed us all how to roll a joint, remember...so he is a bad role model for today's youth, he offends the religious sensibilities of many Canadians, he promotes a hedonistic and illegal pastime, yadda yadda yadda...

Just a few things I would like to say:
1. I think the BOC does not consider the impact of collectors as much as we may think   and their decisions are not based or impacted by the the hobby.
2. It is Cheaper and easier logistically to just grab a section of pre made notes that are close to the current run (possibly to keep the issues as current as possible)
3. For anyone who has ever tried finding these things, they are all hit and miss.  You could go for MANY bricks and not find any. And then sometimes you may find a few.  The Cost involved in this search for inserts is huge.  $11/bundle plus all other related expenses (bank fees, gas at $1.00/L, TIME, etc...). Most importantly, there is no guarantee you will find anything.

I am a brick searcher, and have gone through many bricks with nothing, and have found a few here and there.  Knowing that these notes are nearly impossible to find (unless you get lucky), plus the fact that they are designated to be replacement notes, makes them attractive to me, and actually an area of specialty. (Like radars to some).

Found some interesting stuff in a BABN bundle (with BABN banding around it- will note in proper section). This does have to do with inserts, and whether they in fact ARE phasing them out all together.