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Faking it!: A History of Counterfeiting in Canada

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by James Powell and Jill Moxley

General Store Publishing House, Renfrew, Ontario, 2013
176 pp., illus., $24.99 paperback

Throughout the ages, people have always wanted to make money. Some just took it a tad more literally than others. In Faking It!: A History of Counterfeiting in Canada, authors James Powell and Jill Moxley offer an overview of what they call “the second-oldest profession” and show how funny money has affected nations, helped topple empires, and made paupers out of princes.

Powell, a retired senior Canadian banking manager, and Moxley, a professional writer, have crafted a breezy but informative book brimming with anecdotes about the forgers who, over the centuries, have sought to fake their fortunes — and the (sometimes) deadly penalties they paid for their guile.

The book features plenty of illustrations, primarily of various forms of counterfeited monies. My favourite? The fake ten-dollar bill that some not-so-enterprising Einstein coloured purple — with a crayon, no less — and then tried to pass as genuine currency.

— Mark Collin Reid (Read bio)

Mark Collin Reid is the Editor-in-Chief of Canada's History.

 






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