Publications and Research

Autumn 2001

A New Measure of Core Inflation by Tiff Macklem Predictability of Average Inflation over Long Time Horizons by Allan Crawford Factors Affecting Regional Economic Performance in Canada by Brigid Brady and Farid Novin Conference Summary: Revisiting the Case for Flexible Exchange Rates by Larry Schembri See also: Tables A1, A2, and Notes to the Tables

Cover: Coppers to Cents

After Confederation, the government put in place various measures designed to regulate currency in the new Dominion of Canada. These related to the banks, as well as to the notes and silver coins in circulation. One of the last areas to be addressed was the enormous variety of copper and brass tokens and coins, such as those illustrated on the cover, that had been issued by governments, banks, and private merchants.

These included British halfpennies, American large cents, and provincial coins, as well as semi-official tokens issued by New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Also circulating were bank tokens of penny and halfpenny denominations, anonymous and identified merchant tokens, and, of course, many counterfeits. Pieces varied widely in size and weight, and some were more popular than others. This confusing array was an irritant to commerce and led to the following comment in the January 1879 issue of The Canadian Antiquarian and Numismatic Journal, "the rubbish which we knew so well in Montreal a few years back, and which we are now happily rid of . . . ."

As the notice on the cover indicates, by October 1870, government departments were allowed to accept only a few tokens of specific weight and size. These included bank tokens issued between 1836 and 1857, as well as British halfpennies and particular issues of cents from the Province of Canada (1858–9), New Brunswick (1861, 1864), and Nova Scotia (1861, 1862, 1864). To facilitate transactions using these pieces, the British issues were denominated on a decimal basis: pennies were valued at two cents and halfpennies at a cent. In an effort to replace these base metal relics, the government periodically issued new one-cent coins, beginning in 1876. The old colonial issues continued to circulate until the end of the century, however, particularly in rural areas.

The notice measures 9 by 12 inches. It and the coins and tokens appearing on the cover form part of the National Currency Collection, Bank of Canada.

Photography by James Zagon.