If you have old paper bills in your purse, you have until the end of the year to use them in day-to-day transactions before stores no longer have to accept them. The Bank of Canada reminded us this week that hundreds of millions of $1, $2, $25, $500, and $1,000 banknotes will have their legal tender status removed as of Jan. 1, 2021. But your local bank will still give you face value for them. However, they may be worth MORE than face value! You just have to hope it’s in good shape.
Two things affect the price of a bill, rarity, and quality. If you have one that is both rare and high quality, you could be in for a payday! According to coinsandcanada.com, the rarest $1 bills are the ones in perfect or near-perfect condition. Higher quality bills can be worth hundreds of times the value. Then there’s a rare series of bills from 1954 called “Devil’s Face” notes, taken out of circulation because some people thought that the Queen’s hair on them looked like a devil’s face. These bills are very rare, but if you’re lucky enough to have one in perfect condition, it may be worth up to $7000.
