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 (ABN). 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 engraving on the back of this note is a typical scene from the Canadian Prairies—from a photograph taken in Saskatchewan. The engraver was Harold Forrest Osborn of ABN. The blocky shape on the horizon is a grain elevator, a familiar shape fast disappearing from the Prairies.
At a glance
- Portrait: Queen Elizabeth II
- Date of issue: September 9, 1954 (modified: June 1956)
- Last day of issue: June 2, 1974
- Signatures:
- Deputy Governors James E. Coyne, John R. Beattie, Gerald K. Bouey and Ruston W. Lawson
- Governors Graham F. Towers, James E. Coyne, Louis Rasminsky and Gerald K. Bouey
- Dimensions: 15.2 cm x 7 cm
- Design: Charles F. Comfort, Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd.
- Printer: British American Bank Note Company Ltd., Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd.
- Status: not legal tender
