Giving Away $1 Banknotes On Canada Day

Interesting to say the least. If the 1954 notes mentioned in the article were bought for face, it would definitely be a real shame if they were in decent shape (or the devils face variety)...it sounds like they were crisp. Major score for the restaurant owner. Even all the other (non 1954) notes were uncirculated they would only be worth a small premium because they are still fairly common.

As for the 1973 $1 bills, you have to remember that when they stopped making them, everybody hoarded them not only for sentimental reasons but also with the thought that they would become "valuable collector's items"...which is kind of a slippery slope. There is still a huge supply of '73 dollar bills out there even in uncirculated and a limited market...good luck to anybody who wants more than a dollar for them. They are just not worth the money people want for them, even at a premium of $1 or $2 over face.

My local coin dealer, who has been in business for 40 years (and obviously knows quite a bit to manage to stay in business for so long) sees dozens upon dozens of crisp 1973 dollar bills every week that people want to sell, sometimes even complete bundles. He never takes any of them simply because everybody wants to sell them, but nobody is coming in wanting to buy them. That says a lot.