Ummmmm I believe you were reading about Dawson Creek and the Gold Rush. "Beaver Pelts" were the goal of most miners, they exchanged their gold for easy access to a Beaver Pelt from a Woman of Negotiable Affection.
Not in British Colombia before 1903 our official currency was called Local Weed but we changed the currency name to Mary Jane's in 1906 to fool the Royal Canadian Mounted Police because they were getting greedy. Actually Canada had the dollar as it's official currency since 1853. Cheers!