About the note
This note’s portrait is of the eight-year-old Princess Elizabeth, daughter of future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. She would later become Queen Elizabeth II. Her portrait was engraved by Edwin Gunn of American Bank Note Company (ABN) after a 1934 photograph by Marcus Adams, a society photographer who specialized in children. At the time this note was issued, Princess Elizabeth was third in line to the British throne. This portrait has sometimes been called the Shirley Temple because of the similarity of the Princess’s curly hair to that of the famous child film star.
The vignette on the back is a harvest allegory entitled “Testing the Grain.” The figure holds a thyrsus—a staff topped with a pinecone or an artichoke. This staff represents prosperity, fertility and hedonism. It is generally associated with the Greek god Dionysus. The allegorical figure could also be Demeter, goddess of grain, but the staff makes it unclear. The engraving is by Edwin Gunn (ABN) after a painting by Alonzo E. Foringer.
At a glance
- Portrait: Princess Elizabeth
- Date of issue: March 11, 1935
- Last day of issue: January 2, 1937
- Signatures:
- Deputy Governor John A. C. Osborne
- Governor Graham F. Towers
- Dimensions: 15.1 cm x 7.3 cm
- Design: American Bank Note Company Ltd., Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd.
- Printer: Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd.
- Status: legal tender
