About this note
All but two notes in this series carry a portrait of King George VI. The same portrait appears on the First series’ $50 note. Robert Savage of the American Bank Note Company engraved the King’s portrait after a photograph by Bertram Park of Marcus Adams Ltd. in London, England. In the image, the King is wearing an admiral’s uniform. Though he was initially in the Navy during the First World War, he switched to the Royal Air Force in 1918 and became the first in his family to learn to fly.
Previously a dull purple, this note has the brighter purple of all the $10 notes that followed. The allegorical vignette on the back represents the theme of transportation. Harry P. Dawson and George Gundersen, both of the British American Bank Note Company, engraved the image. It shows the Roman god Mercury, who is both the messenger of the gods and the god of travel and commerce. The staff he carries, called a caduceus, and the wings on his hat and feet are ancient symbols of messengers. A staff with a single snake, called the Rod of Asclepius, is the familiar symbol for medicine and doctors.
At a glance
- Portrait: King George VI
- Date of issue: July 19, 1937
- Last day of issue: December 31, 1954
- Signatures:
- Deputy Governors James A. C. Osborne, Donald Gordon and James E. Coyne
- Governor Graham F. Towers
- Dimensions: 15.2 cm x 7.2 cm
- Design: Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd., British American Bank Note Company Ltd.
- Printer: British American Bank Note Company Ltd.
- Status: legal tender
