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 (BABN) 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 back of this note carries an image engraved by Harry Dawson of BABN. It is of Mount Burgess in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, just across the border from Banff National Park. In 1909, a rich deposit of fossilized, soft-bodied creatures was discovered on the mountain and in the immediate region. Of enormous scientific value, the Burgess Shale is now listed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
At a glance
- Portrait: Queen Elizabeth II
- Date of issue: September 9, 1954 (modified: June 1956)
- Last day of issue: November 1, 1971
- Signatures:
- Deputy Governors James E. Coyne, John R. Beattie and Gerald K. Bouey
- Governors Graham F. Towers, James E. Coyne and Louis Rasminsky
- Dimensions: 15.2 cm x 7 cm
- Design: Charles F. Comfort, British American Bank Note Company Ltd., Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd.
- Printer: British American Bank Note Company Ltd.
- Status: legal tender
