A collection with many purposes

When curators propose new acquisitions for the National Currency Collection, they consider the collection’s many different purposes. It is an important repository for our numismatic heritage, and it tells unique and personal stories about individuals’ experiences with money and the economy. Each object is carefully collected with these different functions in mind.

Preserving our numismatic heritage

A landmark collection of two-dollar coins (toonies)

In June, the Bank of Canada Museum acquired a significant part of the Jaime Flamenbaum collection of Canadian $2 coins, widely known as toonies
(or the variation, twoonies). While we have collected circulating examples of the $2 coins since their first appearance in 1996, this acquisition adds rare varieties. It also allows the Museum to recognize Mr. Flamenbaum—one of Canada’s foremost expert on collecting $2 coins—and document his contribution to numismatics. The Museum has greatly benefitted from Mr. Flamenbaum’s research and analysis, and it can finally boast of having one of the best collections of Canadian $2 coins in the world!