About the 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 (ABN) 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.
The colour of the $50 note was originally terracotta but was changed to the bright orange previously used on the $5 note. The allegorical vignette on the back represents the theme of radio. This incongruous engraving shows a classical allegorical figure speaking into a microphone. The background is a globe, referencing long-distance communications. Less obvious is the meaning of the smoking canon next to the figure. A smoking gun usually refers to evidence and justice, or to a significant change that we can’t turn back from. The engraver is Robert Savage, and the source image is a painting by Alonzo Foringer—both of ABN.
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: Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd.
- Status: legal tender
