About the note
Canadian artist Charles F. Comfort created the initial design approach of this bank note series, and the Canadian Bank Note Company (CBN) produced the final design with assistance from the American Bank Note Company. The face of every note carries a portrait of the young Queen Elizabeth II engraved by George Gundersen of the British American Bank Note Company after a photograph by Yousuf Karsh. However, some people saw a shape in the curls behind the Queen’s ear that resembled the face of the Devil. CBN engraver Yves Baril modified the engraving, and from 1956 onward, no more “Devil’s Head” bank notes were issued.
The village of L’Anse-Saint-Jean is on the shores of the Saguenay River north of Québec City. It is very close to the Saguenay Fjord National Park with its landscape of rugged cliffs towering over the river. The view on the back of this note has changed little since the mid-fifties apart from a few more houses in the foreground. The image was engraved by Silas Allen of CBN after a photograph taken by Max Sauer. Originally, the image chosen for this note was a fruit tree in blossom, but in the engraving, the tree had a Japanese appearance.
At a glance
- Portrait: Queen Elizabeth II
- Date of issue: September 9, 1954 (modified: June 1956)
- Final day of issue: May 3, 1992
- Signatures:
- Deputy Governors James E. Coyne, John R. Beattie, Gerald K. Bouey, Ruston W. Lawson and Gordon G. Thiessen
- Governors Graham F. Towers, James E. Coyne, Louis Rasminsky, Gerald K. Bouey and John W. Crow
- Dimensions: 15.2 cm x 7 cm
- Design: Charles F. Comfort, Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd.
- Printer: Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd.
- Status: not legal tender
