Luck and Lore
24 October 2019 - 15 January 2023
Learn the surprising stories behind some of the transformed money, the replica money and the real money we’ve used for millennia to bring good fortune to ourselves and others.
A Nation’s Calling Card
29 March 2019 - 31 July 2020
An exhibition tracing Canada’s official self-identity through more than 80 years of bank notes.
A Noteworthy Woman
30 November 2018 - 2 September 2019
Through photographs, video and never-before-seen artifacts, this exhibition explored both the life of Viola Desmond and the imagery of the bank note she appears on.
Decoding E-money
26 September 2016 - 8 June 2019
A travelling exhibition about the recent past and near future of e-money.
Before the Erebus: The making of Sir John Franklin
29 January 2018 - 22 March 2019
From the Battle of Trafalgar to Canada’s Arctic coast, the exhibit followed the formative years of Sir John Franklin’s career—illustrated with currency representing the societies he encountered on the way to war or to the frontiers of nineteenth-century European exploration.
Masters of Relief
26 May 2018 - 11 November 2018
During and after the International Medal Federation’s 35th Congress, at the Museum, we displayed the work of three significant Canadian medal designers in our Gallery One Showcase.
Behind the Convenience – The Evolving Hardware of E-Money
6 March 2018 – 23 May 2018
In the Special Exhibits Case of Gallery 1, we assembled a collection of recent and not-so-recent electronic payment system artifacts to complement our temporary exhibition Decoding E-Money.
In The Money
27 September 2012 – 1 April 2018
How is paper made? Can good engraving foil a counterfeiter? What are those little holograms for? The In The Money exhibition explored the science of note-based currency.
The Canada 150 Bank Note: Making History
1 July 2017 - 29 January 2018
This special exhibition, located in Gallery 1 of the Bank of Canada Museum, gave visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the art and technology that went into creating this special bank note.
Mining the Miners
24 June 2016 - 18 January 2018
An exhibition about a booming economy of sky-high prices and staggering profits, broken dreams and some very unorthodox banking.
Voices from the Engraver
23 November 2014 - 30 November 2017
This exhibition allowed visitors to experience the creative process, the technical skill and the sheer artistry that underlies every series of Canadian stamps and bank notes, from concept to final product.
Swindle! Canadian Phantom Banks
26 June 2015 – 24 June 2016
This temporary exhibition at the Canadian Museum of History featured a fun and compelling storyline of fraud, worthless currency and make-believe banks. A shifting backdrop of changing imagery illustrated the lively story of one “phantom bank,” while a fascinating selection of artifacts provided insight into the economy, the society and the people of rebellion-era Canada.
CENTimental Journey
27 June 2014 - 26 June 2015
This temporary exhibition, hosted at the Canadian Museum of History, walked visitors through more than 150 years of the Canadian 1-cent piece.
À La Carte
6 January - 27 May 2012
The Museum did credit to the credit card in À La Carte, an exhibition that explored the evolution of credit as currency.
Road Trip!
10 September 2012 - 31 March 2013
Museum visitors hopped on a bus, tuned up their old camper vans, or hitched a ride to take a virtual road trip down (or up) the Trans-Canada Highway.
Fakes & Forgeries: Yesterday and Today
26 August - 9 December 2011
Visitors got a chance to play detective and see if they could tell a fake or a forgery from the real deal—courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum’s exhibition Fakes & Forgeries: Yesterday and Today, on display at the Museum.
By All Accounts: 75 Years of Central Banking
11 March - 24 December 2010
Guests revisited the history of the Bank of Canada and its Governors as seen through the eyes of outside observers— journalists, cartoonists, headline writers, economists, politicians, government-appointed commissions and the Canadian public.
The Good, the Bad, and the Fake
11 January - 11 August 2011
This was a youth-oriented exhibition about counterfeiting and how to tell the difference between real and counterfeit paper money.
Of Kings and Queens and Common Folk: Karsh at the Bank of Canada
12 June 2009 - 10 January 2010
This exhibit provided a glimpse into the early Bank of Canada through the lens of a master.For a limited time, the Museum proudly displayed a series of Karsh photographs documenting the early years of the Bank of Canada.
Broken Coins and Paper Promises
24 July - 13 December 2009
This exhibition explored the various functions of money and also illustrated what could happen in the absence of a central issuing authority like the Bank of Canada.
Just Add Milk!
27 June – 30 November 2008
This colourful exhibition of curiously shaped and widely varied milk tokens took visitors back to a time when a milkman and the rattle of bottles on your doorstep were a familiar part of every morning.