Are you feeling nostalgically Canadian today? Is a roll of toonies just not cutting it for you? Do you want to pull out a good old fashioned $2 bill to pay for your double-double at Tim Hortons? Well, hold on to your maple leaf-covered wallets because you might be surprised to learn about the value of the often overlooked and underappreciated Canadian $2 bill.
The History Of The Canadian $2 Bill
First of all, let’s start with a little history lesson. The $2 bill was first introduced in Canada in the late 1970s, replacing the $2 bill with a note featuring Queen Elizabeth II on the front and a scene with Inuit on the back. The Inuit were eventually replaced by two robins when the Bank of Canada introduced the bird series. These changes were part of the move towards a new series of notes featuring Canadian landmarks and cultural icons, rather than just British royalty.
But why was the $2 bill chosen for this honor? Well, it’s actually because the $2 bill was the least used and most unpopular denomination at the time. The Bank of Canada figured that by featuring a meaningful and significant Canadian image on the $2 bill, it might increase its popularity and usage.
And it seems to have worked! The $2 bill has gained a bit of a cult following over the years and has even been affectionately nicknamed “the toonie” (a combination of “two” and “loonie,” the nickname for the $1 coin featuring a loon on it).
The $2 bill stopped printing on February 18, 1996 and was replaced by the metal toonie.
The Canadian 1986 AUH-prefix With Thiessen-Crow Signature $2 Bills Are Worth $3,000 To $15,000
This is the case because it’s a very rare signature combination. Almost all the 1986 bills with the serial numbers prefixes AUG, AUH and AUJ have the signatures of Bank of Canada governor Gerald Bouey and deputy governor John Crow. That said, some of them with the AUH-prefix are signed by Gordon Thiessen, who was deputy governor at the time. So that is one bill with 2 deputy governor’s signatures instead of the governor and the deputy governor. Some of these $2 bills have sold for over $10,000.
Most Other Canadian $2 Bills Are Worth $2 to $3
If you have a pristine AUH-prefix bill without the Thiessen-Crow Signature, it might be worth up to $5. Otherwise, any other bill is probably worth the nominal value: $2.
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