The Canadian government\u2019s discontinuing of certain old Canadian notes took a lot of people by surprise. To ensure you don\u2019t miss out on money you\u2019re entitled to, it\u2019s handy to know where you can sell your old Canadian bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can sell old Canadian bills to:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Most Canadians are not affected, because the notes in question are decades old and have not been in regular circulation for a long time. If, however, you have a few hanging around, it\u2019s worth learning more about exchanging them, and where to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an effort to thwart counterfeiting of common currency<\/strong>, the Canadian government has removed the \u201clegal tender\u201d status of certain bills. The currency in question will no longer be honored as legitimate forms of payment for goods or services. If you own some, with the exception of some notes that are rare, the notes you have are worthless from a collecting point of view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For as long as there has been currency, there have been people determined to reproduce it on their own, and governments have been determined to stop them<\/strong>. In the past, governments used an array of tools to help root out counterfeit coins. These included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Newer currency possesses several counterfeiting measures<\/strong> that make it very difficult to produce your own Canadian currency. According to the Bank of Canada, the following approaches to thwart counterfeiting are used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All bank notes have security features<\/strong> that make them very difficult to reproduce. Those include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Single polymer design<\/strong> \u2013 Which makes the bill exceptionally smooth to the touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raised ink<\/strong> \u2013 The word \u201cCanada\u201d is raised, along with the big number at the bottom of the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Color shifts<\/strong> \u2013 Different imagery has shifting colors when the image is tilted. The best example of this is the eagle feather on the $10 bill. It shifts from a golden color to a greenish mixture when tilted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Transparent window<\/strong> \u2013 A large transparent window is used with metallic images and symbols on the front of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3D art <\/strong>\u2013 Certain imagery is 3D. Using the $10 bill as an example again, the Maple Leaf image on the bill is 3D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Transparent imagery<\/strong> \u2013 The Maple Leaf on newer Canadian notes is transparent. It also feels slightly raised on the front of the note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Metallic symbols<\/strong> \u2013 These change color when the note is tilted. They are also visible in the same positions and color scheme when the note is flipped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abundant use of maple leaves<\/strong> \u2013 Considering the $10 bill, the following maple leaves are present:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government of Canada has been using all media sources to provide education to the public, businesses and the police regarding how to identify counterfeit<\/strong> notes<\/strong>. The older notes, because they lacked most security features, made it much more difficult to educate any of the above on what to look out for, except for the most obvious of flaws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Canadian government has launched an active program to remove damaged notes<\/strong> from circulation<\/strong>. This involves bank personnel and merchants monitoring the quality of the notes they process and setting damaged money aside. This achieves two things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n All the notes that are not discontinued as legal tender were at least 20 years old<\/strong>. Each had, at best, basic anti-counterfeiting measures. That made them easy to reproduce. Another problem was that because they were not in regular circulation<\/strong>, many people would not recognize a counterfeit if they saw one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With $1 notes, which are generally worth more than just $1 because production was discontinued so long ago, a fake $1 note could easily be passed off to an unsuspecting person as an authentic $1 note. While dealers and most collectors would not be fooled<\/strong>, the average person likely would not be able to tell the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Canadian government decided to remove the notes most often associated with counterfeiting completely, which would leave only those notes that had up-to-date security measures in them left as legal tender<\/strong>. The other approach, which the government also adopted, was to take all older currency out of circulation as it was used as currency with banks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The affected notes are largely any that lack the<\/strong> anti-counterfeiting features<\/strong> covered above. You should check, however, on the legal tender of any of the notes mentioned. You may be surprised at how much above face value some of them are worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Specifically, the following are some of the notes<\/strong> affected<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Any other notes in your possession are worth at least the face value<\/strong> of the bill and are legal tender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The totals for each type of bill are as follows<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These notes do not include<\/strong> any issued by the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before we discuss where you can sell your old Canadian bills, it\u2019s worth considering the option of not selling them at all. Because each one is fairly rare, there will likely be no decline in their price<\/strong>. A note worth $150 today might even be worth a lot more in 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The risk is that there might be a point where the Bank of Canada will<\/strong> no longer accept older notes<\/strong> or pay out at face value. That is countered, however, by the fact that your note is probably, at worst, worth a little more than face value now. Imagine what it will be once it is really rare!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not every discontinued note appreciates in value like that, but enough do to make it worth thinking about. If you have an exceptionally rare or valuable old note<\/strong>, it will likely increase in value as time goes by. Discussing options with a dealer you trust is the best way to find out if you should hold onto your old Canadian bills, or if you should sell them now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bank of Canada has a policy that allows anyone redeem Canadian notes that are no longer recognized as legal tender. You must, however, go through their system. The Bank of Canada<\/strong> does not accept<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Discontinuation Of Canadian Bills Explained<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Counterfeiting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Security<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Education<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Circulation Quality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Older Notes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Which Notes Are Affected?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Totals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Keeping Your Old Canadian Bills<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Where To Sell Old Canadian Notes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Bank Of Canada<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n