Alexander the Great of Macedonia’s armies swept so far and so quickly across Asia and Africa that he had to establish mints along their path to pay his soldiers. The result? The world’s first great coinage system. 🪙⚔️🌍
@bankofcanadamuseum.ca
@bankofcanadamuseum.caAlexander the Great of Macedonia’s armies swept so far and so quickly across Asia and Africa that he had to establish mints along their path to pay his soldiers. The result? The world’s first great coinage system. 🪙⚔️🌍
@bankofcanadamuseum.caA Mechanical Accountant.
This cash register is a model of mechanical sophistication. Traditionally, it would have been the focal point of any store—as this one was for the Ottawa grocer P.D. Herbert.
@bankofcanadamuseum.caIn 1798, Sir Isaac Coffin asked for, and was given, control of the Magdalen Islands. His attempt to make them a tiny kingdom of his own failed, but he did get around to having coins minted for it.
#SaturdayArtifact
@bankofcanadamuseum.caA Token of Value.
Europeans would exchange trade tokens like this one with Indigenous hunters and trappers for what was then Canada’s most precious natural commodity, beaver fur.
#SaturdayArtifact
@bankofcanadamuseum.caThis token coin is the first to have the word “Canada” on it. It’s from the Copper Company of Upper Canada—which never existed. And the token never circulated. But all sorts of reproductions were made of it.
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@bankofcanadamuseum.caHappy #WorldBeardDay!🧔🎉
We love spotting beards on currency.💸
This year’s example: Krišjānis Barons, collector of Latvian daina folk songs—218,000+ compiled in 6 volumes.📚
Named the most prominent Latvian of all time in 2004.🏆
#SaturdayArtifact