Collection Services
Hello, can we be of service?
Yes we can. The National Currency Collection is an arm of the Bank of Canada Museum. It maintains, conserves, and fosters a more than 120,000 artifact strong collection. It also maintains and grows a numismatic library and daily augments an extensive digital resource of its holdings. Our collections and curatorial staff are all knowledgeable professionals with many years of experience in Canadian and World numismatic history.
Services
The National Currency Collection’s staff offer several services that can be accessed free-of-charge. All services are by appointment only and can be arranged by enquiring by .
Library
A growing collection of thousands of monographs, catalogues and periodicals, the reference library is accessible to researchers and students at our collections office. Numismatics, economics and related subjects in a Canadian and world context are covered in a variety of languages. Please for more information.
Photography
If you are interested in an image of any of our artifacts, we can help. We provide digital files in high resolution that are ready for printing and for most personal uses. Please about copyright, fees, usage and accreditation.
Expertise
Do you have a question regarding a coin or note in your collection? Do you have a piece of currency you can’t identify? Have any questions or want more background history on any of the items in our collection? Do you want to see a specific artifact? Drop us a line with an image or description and what you know about the item and one of our curators will happily answer your questions. Please keep in mind it may take up to 4 weeks for a response.
Donations
Yes, please. If you would like to donate an artifact to the National Currency Collection, please e-mail us with a photo and description of your item. The information will be forwarded to our curators who will determine whether it is suitable for our collection.
Due to concerns over possible conflicts of interest, the National Currency Collection staff do not offer appraisals of private collections and nor do they provide authentication of any currency. However, we recommend that you consult the following publications:
- The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Government Paper Money. Toronto: The Charlton Press (new edition each year).
- The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins. Toronto: The Charlton Press (new edition each year)
- The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Colonial Tokens. Toronto: The Charlton Press
These publications may help you obtain a rough figure for the value of your pieces and are available in most public libraries or at charltonpress.com. You may also wish to consult a professional coin/banknote dealer in your community.
