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.
Okanagan Lake in south central British Columbia is shown on the back of the note and engraved by Will Ford of ABN. A National Film Board photographer captured the original image from high in the arid hills of the Okanagan Valley. What the image does not convey is the narrow width and extraordinary length of the lake: 5 kilometres by 135 kilometres.
At a glance
- Portrait: Queen Elizabeth II
- Date of issue: September 9, 1954 (modified: June 1956)
- Last day issued: May 30, 1976
- Signatures:
- Deputy Governors James E. Coyne, John R. Beattie 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: Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd.
- Status: legal tender
