A test only a numismatist can love

I had lunch yesterday with a couple preparing to go on a vacation to Canada.

Giving their plans a numismatic twist was the fact that they will be taking some Canadian coins and bank notes with them.

As an experiment, they have been accumulating some of the floating supplies of such material in Iola. Coins and notes from Canada tend to accumulate here as the country is a favored fishing spot for many of my neighbors.

These fishermen and other vacationers tend to bring back small amounts of Canadian currency each time they visit.

If you have ever vacationed in a foreign country, you know how it works. You can never precisely plan your cash needs and there is always a little left when you recross the border to the United States heading home.

The test will come when these accumulated Canadian items are repatriated and presented to banks/businesses along the way.

Some I expect will pass with no problem as they are current. Other items, such as $1 Canadian bank notes, which haven’t been current for over 20 years, is another kettle of fish. Will banks still take them?

I haven’t researched this particular question in many years. If I ever knew the answer, it has long since vanished from my memory.

I remember when the Canadian dollar bill was on its way out back in the late 1980s. It proved to be an attractive subscription premium for Bank Note Reporter.

What the attractions of the notes are today, if any, I cannot say.

I am eager to learn the outcome of this little experiment when they return.