According to an article on BBC News dated 2 May 2013, "Bank of Canada has named long-term bureaucrat and economist Stephen Poloz as its new head, replacing Mark Carney who is going to run the Bank of England."

This move calls into question whether the 5- and 10-dollar notes unveiled on 30 April and to be issued in November will in fact carry the signature of Mark Carney as the mock-ups suggest, or if Stephen Poloz's signature will be substituted instead.

Courtesy of Aidan Work.

Tags: Canada

The Bank of Canada unveiled the following new designs for its 5- and 10-dollar notes printed on polymer, both to be issued in November 2013.



$5 – 2013, Polymer series
Design Features:
Portrait: Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister from 1896 to 1911
Signatures: Left – T. Macklem, Right – M. J. Carney
Size: 152.4 x 69.85 mm (6.0 x 2.75 inches)
Issue Date: November 2013



$10 – 2013, Polymer series
Design Features:
Portrait: Sir John A. Macdonald, Prime Minister from 1867–1873 and 1878–1891
Signatures: Left – T. Macklem, Right – M. J. Carney
Size: 152.4 x 69.85 mm (6.0 x 2.75 inches)
Issue Date: November 2013

Tags: Canada, Polymer

Fans of polymer banknotes should check out this Wall Street Journal article dated 15 February 2013 in which yours truly is quoted.

Tags: Canada

According to a Reuters article dated 18 January 2013, a botanist claims the leaf around the secondary window at left front of the new polymer 20-dollar note is from a Norway maple, not a sugar maple. The Bank of Canada refutes this claim, asserting "the image on the new bills was purposefully designed not to represent any specific species but rather to be a combination of various kinds."

Courtesy of David Surette.

Tags: Canada, Polymer

According to a press release dated 26 November 2012, the Bank of England has announced that Mark Carney has been appointed governor of the bank from 1 July 2013. He will succeed Sir Mervyn King. Carney is currently Governor of the Bank of Canada, having taken up his office on 1 February 2008. The move will likely mean new signature varieties for Canada's banknotes, but not for those in Great Britain, where the notes are signed by the chief cashier.

Courtesy of Jim Chen, Alex Zlotin, and Aidan Work.

Tags: Canada, England

According to several newspaper articles including one in the Winnipeg Free Press dated 18 August 2012, the back of the Bank of Canada's new 100-dollar note design originally depicted an Asian woman scientist, but the image was revised to show a Caucasian woman prior to issuance of the note. The change was made in response to concerns from focus group participants about the stereotyping of Asians as excelling in technology.

Tags: Canada, Polymer

The Ottawa Numismatic Society voted unanimously in favour of making its journal, moneta, available to all, for free. To download current and past issues, visit www.ons-sno.ca.

Courtesy of Serge Pelletier.

Tags: Canada

According to a press release, the Bank of Canada's new 20-dollar (US$20) note was issued on 7 November 2012. The new note is printed on polymer (specifically, Guardian, a biaxialoriented polypropylene substrate manufactured by Securency International of Australia). "As with the previously issued $50 and $100 polymer bank notes, the main reason for issuing a new $20 is to stay ahead of counterfeiting threats. The new polymer notes are also more economical and have a smaller environmental footprint."


Green. Front: Maple leaf; Queen Elizabeth II. Back: Flowers; Canadian National Vimy Memorial in Vimy, France; flowers. Holographic stripe with Queen Elizabeth II and tower. No security thread. Watermark: None. Printer: Unknown. 152 x 70 mm. Polymer.



Courtesy of Aidan Work, Thomas Krause, Will Mitchell, Claudio Marana, Phil Martin, and Marcus Jansson.

Tags: Canada, Polymer

20 dollars (US$20), 2010. Like P103 (“ISSUE OF 2004”) but new “PRINTED IN” date of 2010 at lower center on back and new signatures (W.P. Jenkins and M.J. Carney).

Tags: Canada

The Bank of Canada held a press event on 26 March 2012 to officially introduce the new polymer 50-dollar note.




50 dollars (US$50). Red. Front: Maple leaf; William Lyon Mackenzie King. Back: Canadian Coast Guard Ship Amundsen, an Arctic research icebreaker; map of Canada; map leaf. Holographic stripe. No security thread. Watermark: None. Printer: Unknown. 152 x 70 mm. Polymer.

Courtesy of Arthur John Boyko and Jens Luettschwager.

Tags: Canada, Polymer

On 18 November 2011, the BBC published an interesting article, “Who, What, Why: Why don't more countries use plastic banknotes?,” which quotes BanknoteNews.com contributor Stane Štraus, publisher of the Polymer Bank Notes of the World web site.

Courtesy of Aidan Work.

Tags: Polymer, Canada, England

100 dollars (US$98.40), 2011.
Brown. Front: Maple leaf; Prime Minister Sir Robert L. Borden. Back: Electrocardiogram (EKG) reading; woman looking into microscope; bottle of insulin; DNA double helix; maple leaf. Holographic stripe with Robert Borden and tower of parliament building in Ottawa. No security thread. Watermark: None. Printer: Unknown. 152 x 70 mm. Polymer. Intro: 14.11.2011.

According to a press released dated 14 November 2011, the Bank of Canada has introduced a new 100-dollar note which is the first polymer note for the nation. The new 50-dollar note is scheduled for introduction in March 2012.

Courtesy of Arthur Boyko and Nicholas Cheung.

Tags: Canada, Polymer

20 dollars (US$20.20), 2011. Like P103 (“ISSUE OF 2004”) but new “PRINTED IN” date of 2011 at lower center on back and new signatures (Maclem / Carney).

Courtesy of Dharshan Mahalingam.

Tags: Canada

50 dollars (US$52.10), 2011. Like P104 (“ISSUE OF 2004”) but new “PRINTED IN” date of 2011 at lower center on back and new signatures (Maclem and M.J. Carney).

Courtesy of David Ryder.

Tags: Canada

Canada's new polymer bank note series was unveiled on 20 June 2011. The themes for the entire series, as well as designs, images, and security features of the first denominations to be issued—the $100 and $50 notes—were unveiled by James M. Flaherty, Minister of Finance; William J. S. Elliott, Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; and Mark J. Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada in a ceremony at the Bank of Canada.

The $100 note is to be issued in November 2011. The $50 note is to be issued in March 2012. The remaining $5, $10, and $20 notes are to be issued by late 2013.





Download the Bank of Canada Review Supplement dated 20 June 2011, Paying with Polymer: Developing Canada’s New Bank Notes.

Watch the unveiling ceremony on the bank’s website.

Courtesy of Richard Miranda and Thomas Krause.

Tags: Canada, Polymer

5 dollars (US$4.75), 2010. Like P101A (“ISSUE OF 2006”) but new “PRINTED IN” date of 2010 at lower center on back and new signatures (W.P. Jenkins and M.J. Carney).

Courtesy of Nazir Rahemtulla.

Tags: Canada

According to a Bank of Canada press release dated 10 March 2011, new 100-dollar (US$103) polymer banknote will be issued in November 2011, with a polymer 50-dollar note to follow in March 2012. The bank also provided further technical and background information about the new notes. Additional details regarding security features, themes, and designs of these denominations will be unveiled in the spring of 2011. The remaining 5-, 10-, and 20-dollar notes will be unveiled and issued by the end of 2013.

The bank has issued "Backgrounder on Canada’s new polymer bank note series" as a free PDF.

Courtesy of Brian Frame, Jay Mollindo, and Thomas Krause.

Tags: Canada, Polymer

20 dollars (US$20.20), 2009. Like P103 (“ISSUE OF 2004”) but new “PRINTED IN” date of 2009 at lower center on back and new signatures (W.P. Jenkins and M.J. Carney).

Courtesy of James Huang.

Tags: Canada

10 dollars (US$10.10), 2009. Like P102A (“ISSUE OF 2004”) but new “PRINTED IN” date of 2009 at lower center on back and new signatures (W.P. Jenkins and M.J. Carney).

Courtesy of James Huang.

Tags: Canada

5 dollars (US$4.75), 2009. Like P101A (“ISSUE OF 2006”) but new “PRINTED IN” date of 2009 at lower center on back and new signatures (W.P. Jenkins and M.J. Carney).

Courtesy of Bill Stubkjaer.

Tags: Canada

100 dollars (US$96), 2009. Like P105 (“ISSUE OF 2004”) but new “PRINTED IN” date of 2009 at lower center on back and new signatures (W.P. Jenkins and M.J. Carney).

Courtesy of Nazir Rahemtulla.

Tags: Canada

According to an article in The Globe and Mail dated 4 March 2010, Canada has announced that beginning in late 2011 it intends to replace paper-cotton banknotes with polymer notes which are reported to last “two to three times longer. The changes are intended save on the cost of printing bills – and create a currency that’s much harder to counterfeit.” Canada will rely upon Austarlia’s Securency as the sole supplier for the polymer substrate. Though there is no mention of who will print the notes, it will probably continue to be Bank of Canada and Canadian Bank Note Company. Furthermore, it appears the 10- and 20-dollar denominations will be the first to be printed on polymer.

Courtesy of Dharshan Mahalingam and Mark Allen.

Tags: Canada, Polymer

Some Canadian 10-dollar notes printed in 2007 with the Jenkins-Dodge signature combination were printed on paper intended for 20-dollar notes. They therefore have Queen Elizabeth's portrait and the number 20 as the watermark, a security thread with demetalized "Canada 20", and the holographic stripe with the number 20. There are at least three ranges of the error notes with prefixes BTT and BTU. Six notes have been confirmed so far, though there could be many more notes in circulation.

For more information, please visit Canadian Paper Money.

Tags: Canada, Error

The above notes are all dated 2006 on front and printed 2008 on back. They are like preceding issues, but with a new signature combination: W.P. Jenkins and M.J. Carney. As of late May, apparently the $100 has not yet be issued with this date/signature combination.

Courtesy of Jim “Rubycored” Chen.

Tags: Canada

5 dollars, 2006. Issued November 15, 2006. Like Pick 101, but new date, new signatures (P. Jenkins, Senior Deputy Governor; and D.A. Dodge, Governor), and additional security features, including metallic holographic stripe, a watermark portrait, a windowed color-shifting security thread, a registration device, and enhanced fluorescence under UV light. Gone are the iridescent maple leaves and latent image of the denomination that appear on Pick 101. To increase its durability, the upgraded $5 note is printed on a slightly heavier paper and is coated with a protective varnish.

Courtesy of Dennis Lane.

Tags: Canada

Winston Brown of Toronto, Ontario, has recently gone public with a dramatic example of a modern error. The $20 from 2004’s Canadian Journey series has the holographic stripe on the front right, the windowed security thread on the back right, and the watermark is upside down (compare top pair of images with normal note below).

The Bank of Canada has confirmed that the note is genuine and postulates that the error is a result of an uncut sheet of banknote paper being being rotated 180 degrees before being fed into its presses in Ottawa. Since each sheet contains 45 notes, there must have been 44 other examples of this error with serial numbers similar to that found on Brown’s note: EZM7459230. However, his note was found in circulation in 2006 (though a 2004 issue, the note is dated 2006 on the back), and Brown isn’t aware of any other similar notes that have surfaced to date. It’s possible they escaped notice and may be lost, destroyed, collected, or waiting to be discovered.

Brown intends to sell his error note via auction at some point in the future. Interested parties may contact him via email: w_brown_2007@hotmail.com.

Courtesy of Winston Brown.

Tags: Canada, Error