We pack a lot into the pages of every issue of Kayak, but there’s always more great stuff we just can’t fit in. So join Teeka and Beau, our otter mascots, to find out more about the theme of each issue, or just pick up some random bits of Canadian history.

What's a Beaver Worth?

Keeping trades straight could be confusing, so from the 1820s right up until the 1950s, HBC created these coin-like metal tokens to represent the number of “made beaver” (prepared pelts) someone had brought to trade. This one, issued in 1946, stood for 10 made beaver. It was aluminum and measured about three centimetres across.

Photos: Left side, front; right side, back. / National Currency Collection — Bank of Canada, Ottawa.