The most striking feature of this note series is colour. Apart from the strident red of the $50 bill, the notes continued to adhere to the established colour themes of Canadian bank notes. But two or more accent colours fade and float throughout each note, prompting Bank staff to call it the “multicoloured series.” It was the only Bank of Canada series developed as a result of an international competition for designs.
The patterns that twist around the edges represent an updated version of guilloche, the machine-made designs (similar to Spirograph patterns) traditionally seen on older currency. And for the first time on Canadian notes, the words “this note is legal tender” appeared, rather than “will pay to the bearer on demand.” The finance minister of the time, Edgar Benson, chose to feature Canadian prime ministers throughout most of the series. This set the portrait themes for all future notes until the coming of the Vertical series in 2018. On the reverses, all but one of the vignettes show a Canadian landscape transformed by human activity. The last note released, the fifty-dollar bill, sticks in most people’s minds. The virtually full-colour appearance of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police image on the reverse could only be achieved affordably through the lithographic process. It was the first Canadian bill to have an entire side lithographed. In the future, all back vignettes would be lithographed.
The colours, lithography and geometric patterns were added to the traditional security features of planchettes (green dots) and raised ink (intaglio).
Explore each note
Scenes of Canada Series $1 Note
The $1 note was issued in June 1974 and printed by both Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd. and British American Bank Note Company. This was the last $1 note issued by the Bank.
Scenes of Canada Series $2 Note
Issued in August 1975 and printed by British American Bank Note Company, the $2 note features an Inuit hunting scene based on a photo taken by Doug Wilkinson at Pond Inlet on North Baffin Island.
Scenes of Canada Series $5 Note
The $5 note was issued in December 1972. The portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier on the face of the note was engraved by C. Gordon Yorke.
Scenes of Canada Series $10 Note
A portrait of Sir John A. Macdonald engraved by George Gundersen appears on the front of the $10 note. The back features the Polymer Corporation in Sarnia, Ontario.
Scenes of Canada Series $20 Note
The first $20 note in the series was issued in June 1970 and was printed by both Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd. and British American Bank Note Company. The face features the Gundersen engraving of the Queen.
Scenes of Canada Series $50 Note
The face of the $50 note features an engraving of William Lyon Mackenzie King by George Gundersen based on a Karsh portrait of Canada’s longest-serving prime minister.
Scenes of Canada Series $100 Note
C. Gordon Yorke engraved the portrait of Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden that appears on the front of the $100 note. C. Gordon Yorke engraved the vignette of the harbour at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, featured on the back.
