The bon (French Canadian, Polish) was a type of paper currency issued by merchants to meet the need for small change. Bon is an abbreviation for bon pour (French for "good for"). These notes were in wide use in the early part of the 19th century. They were sometimes referred to as "shin plasters" by English Canadians. Because of their widespread use, they are considered to be the precursor to modern banknotes.[1][2][3]

Polish bon towarowy, trade note

References edit

  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-10-03. Retrieved 2009-12-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Bank of Canada - Appendix B - Alternative Money
  2. ^ http://www.nunet.ca/cpms/terms.htm Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Canadian Paper Money Terminology
  3. ^ Money and exchange in Canada to 1900 "merchants to revive the practice of issuing bons or, as they were called by the English Canadians, “shinplasters”."