BANK OF CANADA MUSEUM REOPENS

The Bank of Canada Museum—formerly known as the Currency Museum—has re-opened its doors after a four-year closure and a “complete re-imagining.”

Aside from containing artifacts from the National Currency Collection, the two museums are “really quite different,” according to Paul Berry, the museum’s chief curator.

“The Bank of Canada Museum is focused upon delivering messages about the economy and the Bank of Canada whereas the Currency Museum looked more at currency and its evolution both within and outside Canada,” said Berry, who added the new museum has “twice the floor space but about one quarter of the artifacts on display.”

Despite fewer artifacts, the redesigned museum and its new focus has allowed the bank to showcase a greater variety of material from the National Currency Collection.

“Stock certificates, payment cards and savings banks help tell the story about production, consumption and one’s personal involvement in the economy; subjects that weren’t formerly addressed,” said Berry. “The new museum is interactive, more flexible with respect to our ability to change displays and information, and much more modern in appearance.”

The museum opened to the public on July 1, and admission is free year-round. Collectors and non-collectors alike are being invited to visit the museum and learn about the economy—and more specifically, their role in the economy—as well as the Bank of Canada’s role at home and abroad.

“It’s all about money, but not necessarily media of exchange,” said Berry, of the museum, adding it highlights “every aspect” of the economy.

Alongside the interactive exhibits, visitors also learn about Canada’s monetary history through the carefully selected display of 1,400 artifacts from the National Currency Collection, which is the world’s most complete collection of Canadian currency and related artifacts, holding nearly 130,000 items altogether.

Also on display at the museum are examples of international currency and trade items from throughout human history. Among the various artifacts is every banknote series issued by the Bank of Canada since 1935.

“I think the museum is an excellent example of the symbiosis between the old and the new,” said Berry. “By the same token, we’ve put a lot of objects on display. We provide the historical context for the bank through the National Currency Collection for the exhibits, which basically fill the walls in the gallery.”

To read the complete article, see:
Completely re-imagined Bank of Canada Museum re-opens to public (http://canadiancoinnews.com/complete-re-imagining-bank-canada-museum-reopens/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
BANK OF CANADA'S MONEY MUSEUM (http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n26a20.html)

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