1937 Canadian banknote series

Last updated

The 1937 Canadian banknote series is the second series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar issued by the Bank of Canada. The banknotes were issued into circulation on 19 July 1937, [1] at which time the Bank of Canada began gradually removing banknotes from the 1935 series from circulation. [2] The $1000 banknote was issued several years later, as it was primarily used by chartered banks, which had a sufficient supply of the 1935 Series $1000 banknote. [3]

Contents

This was the first series of bilingual Canadian banknotes, [4] as the 1935 Series was a dual-language series with French banknotes issued in Quebec and English banknotes issued in the rest of Canada. [2] This series was created because of the introduction of the Bank of Canada Act, which required Canadian banknotes to be bilingual. [5] In this series, English was always on the left. The 1937 banknote series was followed by the 1954 Canadian Landscape series.

With the exception of the $50 and $1000 notes, the colours introduced to the notes on this series remain to this day (or until they were no longer produced).

Background

In the House of Commons on 2 June 1936, Conservative member of parliament Thomas Langton Church protested against the requirement of bilingual banknotes in the Bank of Canada Act, stating there was no authority for it in the British North America Act, and that it had not been an issue during the 1935 federal election. [6] He favoured printing dual-language banknotes (distinct English and French banknotes) as had been done for the 1935 Series. [6] Other conservative members of the 18th Canadian Parliament, such as Robert Smeaton White, supported the Liberal Party of Canada majority government of William Lyon Mackenzie King to print bilingual banknotes. [6]

The death of George V on 20 January 1936 was another factor for the Bank of Canada to introduce a new series of banknotes. [7] It created designs for new banknotes incorporating the portrait of Edward VIII, but when he abdicated on 11 December 1936 in order to marry Wallis Simpson, the Bank of Canada rushed to prepare new designs. [7] These used portraits of King George VI, who ascended the throne on 11 December 1936. [5]

Banknotes

The banknotes retain the "classical elements of the design" of the 1935 Series, and the reverse of most banknote denominations retain the allegorical themes and figures of the 1935 Series. [8] The design of these banknotes has greater uniformity and consistency than the 1935 Series, with the obverse having a framed numeral in the top corners and the written value of each denomination framed in the lower corners, with English on the right and French on the left. [9] The allegorical figures have the same frame in each denomination, unlike the 1935 Series, and are flanked by a large framed numeral representing the denomination's value. [3]

In 1938, the designs were modified to mitigate printing problems of the original design, increasing the width of the signature panel by 2.4 mm. [10] All banknotes in the series measure 152.4 by 73.025 millimetres (6.000 by 2.875 in).

DenominationFace ImageBack ImageColourFaceBackPrintedIssued
$1 1937-1-bank-of-canada-face.jpg 1937-1-bank-of-canadaback.jpg Green King George VI Agriculture allegory2 January 193719 July 1937
$2 1937-2-bank-of-canada-face.jpg 1937-2-bank-of-canadaback.jpg Terra cottaKing George VIHarvest allegory2 January 193719 July 1937
$5 1937-5-bank-of-canada-face.JPG 1937-5-bank-of-canadaback.JPG BlueKing George VIElectric power allegory2 January 193719 July 1937
$10 1937-10-bank-of-canada-face.jpeg 1937-10-bank-of-canadaback.jpeg PurpleKing George VITransportation allegory2 January 193719 July 1937
$20 1937-20-bank-of-canada-face.JPG 1937-20-bank-of-canadaback.jpeg Olive greenKing George VIFertility allegory2 January 193719 July 1937
$50 1937-50-bank-of-canada-face.jpg 1937-50-bank-of-canadaback.jpg OrangeKing George VIModern Inventions allegory2 January 193719 July 1937
$100 1937-100-bank-of-canada-face.JPG 1937-100-bank-of-canadaback.JPG Sepia John A. Macdonald Commerce and industry allegory2 January 193719 July 1937
$1000 1937-1000-bank-of-canada-face.JPG 1937-1000-bank-of-canadaback.JPG Rose pink Wilfrid Laurier Security allegory2 January 1937January 1952

Each denomination had a distinct colour, and this set of denomination colours would be used for all subsequent banknote series. [9] The Bank of Canada modified the colours used from the 1935 Series in part to address the issue that some banknotes could not be easily distinguished in low light. [9] This was particularly problematic for the $1 and $2 banknotes, which The St. Maurice Valley Chronicle of Trois-Rivières stated in an article that the green hue of the $1 banknote and the blue hue of the $2 banknote made the obverse appear similar, and that the more distinct colours of the reverse could be "confused in artificial light". [11] The Bank of Canada chose to design the $2 banknotes using a terracotta red called "sanguine" as its dominant colour, and also changed the colour of the $5 banknote to blue, [9] [10] the $20 banknote to olive green, the $50 banknote to orange, [12] and the $100 banknote to the same tint of sepia used for the 1935 Series $500 banknote. [13]

Portraits

The series only contained three portraits, which were centrally positioned on the obverse of the banknote on which they were included to accommodate the introduction of bilingual text. [9] The portrait of George VI wearing an admiral's uniform appearing on six of the banknotes was based on a photograph taken by Bertram Park, for which an engraving was made by Robert Savage of ABN. [14] [15] [7] It had been used on the $50 banknote of the 1935 Series. [9] The two exceptions were the $100 banknote, which had the same portrait of John A. Macdonald as the 1935 Series $100 banknote, and the $1000 banknote, which had the same portrait of Wilfrid Laurier as the 1935 Series $100 banknote. [16] [13]

Allegories

The allegorical figure on the $1 banknote was the same as that on the 1935 Series $1 banknote, depicting an agricultural theme. [10] It was based on a painting by Alonzo Foringer of the American Bank Note Company (ABN). [17] The $2 banknote contains the same harvest allegory that appeared on the 1935 Series $10 banknote, and was engraved by Harry P. Dawson of the British American Bank Note Company (BABN, now BA International). [10]

The $5 banknote has the same electric power generation allegory that appeared in the 1935 Series $5 banknote, and the $10 banknote has the same transportation allegory as the 1935 Series $2 banknote, represented by a winged figure of the Roman mythological character Mercury. [18] The same fertility allegory that was on the 1935 Series $500 banknote, based on another painting by Foringer, was used on the $20 banknote of this series. [12] [19] The modern inventions allegorical figure on the $50 banknote, industry allegorical figure of the $100 banknote, and security allegorical figure of the $1000 banknote were the same as those used on the same denomination in the 1935 Series. [12] [13]

Printing

Engravings of the banknotes were created and subsequently transferred to steel rollers by rocking the rollers back and forth over the engraved die. After being hardened, the design was transferred to a master printing plate, which for the 1937 Series contained 24 copies of the engraved image. This process is known as siderography. [20] The original plates, dies, and rolls for this series were destroyed by the Canadian Bank Note Company (CBN) after the modified version of the series was created in 1938. [20]

The Canadian Bank Note Company printed the $1, $20, $50, $100, and $1000 banknotes, and the British American Bank Note Company printed the $2, $5, and $10 banknotes. [21]

Legacy

Ultimately, the "production of bilingual notes was widely endorsed by parliamentarians and by the public". [7]

Because the colour of the $5 banknote was changed to blue, the Bank of Canada "recalled and cancelled 3,644,000" of the 1935 series blue $2 banknotes to avoid confusion. [9] The $2 banknotes were rarely used in the prairie provinces of Canada as that denomination had "never been popular" there [22] since its use in the 1920s as the standard price for a prostitute along the "notorious River Street hotel strip" in Moose Jaw, earning it the nickname Moose Jaw money. [23] This denomination would be shunned by many in the prairie provinces until the 1990s, when $2 banknotes of the Birds of Canada series became increasingly accepted. [23]

By 1940, CA$ 495,946,232 worth of banknotes were in circulation, of which CA$ 379,000,000 was held by the public and the remainder by chartered banks. [24] This reflected an increase of CA$ 95,000,000 in 1940 and CA$ 109,000,000 in 1941. [24] Most denominations had a static circulation pattern, with increasing scarcity for successively larger denominations. The $2 banknote, however, had no discernable pattern of use, fluctuating from abundance to scarcity. [22] In January and February 1949, for example, Montreal and Toronto experienced large spikes (also referred to as "jags") in the use of $2 banknotes for financial transactions, and as the spike subsided over two weeks, another one appeared in Ottawa. [22] The Bank of Canada made an official statement about the phenomenon, for which it could provide no explanation, stating that the $2 banknotes "come like migratory birds and disappear like the lemmings". [22]

A memorandum written by Donald Gordon, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, stated a preference to produce a new series of banknotes every five years to "obstruct any attempt at wholesale counterfeiting", but the plan was abandoned because of World War II. [25]

Notes

  1. ↑ Milwaukee Journal 1937.
  2. 1 2 Milwaukee Journal 1937, p. 7.
  3. 1 2 The Art and Design of Canadian Bank Notes 2006, p. 40.
  4. ↑ Cross 1997, p. 193.
  5. 1 2 Bank of Canada.
  6. 1 2 3 The Ottawa Evening Citizen 1936, p. 5.
  7. 1 2 3 4 The Art and Design of Canadian Bank Notes 2006, p. 37.
  8. ↑ Currency Museum.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The Art and Design of Canadian Bank Notes 2006, p. 38.
  10. 1 2 3 4 The Art and Design of Canadian Bank Notes 2006, p. 43.
  11. ↑ The St. Maurice Valley Chronicle 1935, p. 2.
  12. 1 2 3 The Art and Design of Canadian Bank Notes 2006, p. 45.
  13. 1 2 3 The Art and Design of Canadian Bank Notes 2006, p. 46.
  14. ↑ The Art and Design of Canadian Bank Notes 2006, p. 26.
  15. ↑ The Art and Design of Canadian Bank Notes 2006, p. 34.
  16. ↑ Powell, p. 30, Establishment of a central bank.
  17. ↑ The Art and Design of Canadian Bank Notes 2006, p. 31.
  18. ↑ The Art and Design of Canadian Bank Notes 2006, p. 44.
  19. ↑ The Art and Design of Canadian Bank Notes 2006, p. 28.
  20. 1 2 The Art and Design of Canadian Bank Notes 2006, p. 42.
  21. ↑ Cuhaj 2010, p. 189The printing companies are identified as CBNC (Canadian Bank Note Company) and BABNC (British American Bank Note Company) in the source document.
  22. 1 2 3 4 Swanson 1949, p. 1.
  23. 1 2 Toronto Star 1990, p. A26.
  24. 1 2 The Ottawa Evening Citizen 1942, p. 17.
  25. ↑ The Art and Design of Canadian Bank Notes 2006, p. 47.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States one-hundred-dollar bill</span> Current denomination of United States currency

The United States one-hundred-dollar bill (US$100) is a denomination of United States currency. The first United States Note with this value was issued in 1862 and the Federal Reserve Note version was first produced in 1914. Inventor and U.S. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin has been featured on the obverse of the bill since 1914, which now also contains stylized images of the Declaration of Independence, a quill pen, the Syng inkwell, and the Liberty Bell. The reverse depicts Independence Hall in Philadelphia, which it has featured since 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangladeshi taka</span> Currency of Bangladesh

The Bangladeshi taka is the currency of Bangladesh. In Unicode, it is encoded at U+09F3৳BENGALI RUPEE SIGN.

Banknotes that are no longer in issue in Canada, and are being removed from circulation, are said to be "withdrawn from circulation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Bank Note</span> Retired US currency banknotes

National Bank Notes were United States currency banknotes issued by National Banks chartered by the United States Government. The notes were usually backed by United States bonds the bank deposited with the United States Treasury. In addition, banks were required to maintain a redemption fund amounting to five percent of any outstanding note balance, in gold or "lawful money." The notes were not legal tender in general, but were satisfactory for nearly all payments to and by the federal government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banknotes of the Canadian dollar</span> Overview of banknotes issued by Canada

Banknotes of the Canadian dollar are the banknotes or bills of Canada, denominated in Canadian dollars. Currently, they are issued in $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 denominations. All current notes are issued by the Bank of Canada, which released its first series of notes in 1935. The Bank of Canada has contracted the Canadian Bank Note Company to produce the Canadian notes since then. The current series of polymer banknotes were introduced into circulation between November 2011 and November 2013. Banknotes issued in Canada can be viewed at the Bank of Canada Museum in Ottawa.

Hungarian forint paper money is part of the physical form of the current Hungarian currency, the Hungarian forint. The forint paper money consists exclusively of banknotes. During its history, denominations ranging from 10 to 20,000 forints were put into circulation in correspondence with the inflation which raised needs for higher denominations. Recently, commemorative banknotes were issued as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian five-dollar note</span> Current denomination of Australian currency

The Australian five-dollar note was first issued on 29 May 1967, fifteen months after the currency was changed from the pound to the dollar on 14 February 1966. It was a new denomination with mauve colouration – the pre-decimal system had no denomination with a value of £21⁄2. The first polymer version of the note was introduced on 7 July 1992. A major design update was issued on 1 September 2016, with a minor update to the signatures in 2019.

The 1997 series of Danish Banknotes are part of the physical form of Denmark's currency, the Danish Krone (kr.), issued by Danmarks Nationalbank. The 1997 series commenced in March 1997 and has since been replaced by the 2009 series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1935 Canadian banknote series</span>

The 1935 Canadian banknote series is the first series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar issued by the Bank of Canada. They were first circulated on 11 March 1935, the same day that the Bank of Canada officially started operating. Two sets of banknotes were printed for each denomination, one in French for Quebec, and one in English for the rest of Canada. This is the only series issued by the Bank of Canada with dual unilingual banknotes. This series was followed by the 1937 Canadian banknote series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Landscape</span> 1954 banknote series

Canadian Landscape is the third series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar issued by the Bank of Canada, first circulated in 1954. The banknotes were designed in 1952 following the accession of Elizabeth II to the throne after the death of her father George VI. The banknote designs differed significantly from the preceding 1937 Series banknotes, though the denomination colours and bilingual printing were retained. This series was followed by the 1969 Scenes of Canada series.

Scenes of Canada is the fourth series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar issued by the Bank of Canada. It was first circulated in 1970 to succeed the 1954 Canadian Landscape series and was followed by the 1986 Birds of Canada banknote series. This was the last series to feature a $1 bill, which was replaced by a $1 coin known as the loonie in 1987, although both the $1 bill and the loonie were produced concurrently for 21 months, from June 1987 to April 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Journey</span> 2001 banknote series

Canadian Journey is the sixth series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar designed and circulated by the Bank of Canada. It succeeded the 1986 Birds of Canada banknote series. The first banknote of the Canadian Journey series issued into circulation was the $10 bill on 17 January 2001, and the last to be issued was the $50 bill on 17 November 2004. The series was succeeded by the 2011 Frontier series, the banknotes of which were first issued into circulation from 2011 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birds of Canada (banknotes)</span> 1986 Canadian banknote series

Birds of Canada is the fifth series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar issued by the Bank of Canada and was first circulated in 1986 to replace the 1969 Scenes of Canada series. Each note features a bird indigenous to Canada in its design. The banknotes weigh 1 gram with dimensions of 152.40 by 69.85 millimetres. It was succeeded by the 2001 Canadian Journey series.

The banknotes of the Yugoslav dinar were several series of paper money printed by the central bank of the different consecutive states named Yugoslavia.

The New Design Series (NDS) (also known as the BSP Series after the establishment of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) was the name used to refer to the banknotes of the Philippine peso conceptualized from 1983 to 1985, issued from 1985 to 2013 and circulated from 1985 to 2019 including commemorative notes, and coins issued from 1995 to 2017. The coins were minted and issued from c. December 1995 to November 30, 2017, and remain legal tender as of 2023. It was succeeded by the New Generation Currency (NGC) Series that was conceptualized from 2007 to 2010, and issued on December 16, 2010 for banknotes and November 30, 2017 for coins. The series used the Friz Quadrata, Arial, Optima, and Helvetica typeface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine twenty-peso note</span> Banknote of the Philippines

The Philippine twenty-peso note (₱20) is a denomination of Philippine currency. It is the smallest banknote denomination in general circulation in the Philippines. Philippine president Manuel L. Quezon is currently featured on the front side of the note, while the Banaue Rice Terraces and the Asian palm civet is featured on the reverse side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine one hundred-peso note</span> Denomination of Philippine currency

The Philippine one hundred-peso note (₱100) is a denomination of Philippine currency. Philippine president Manuel A. Roxas is currently featured on the front side of the bill, while the Mayon Volcano and the whale shark are featured on the reverse side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine ten-peso note</span> Former denomination of Philippine currency

The Philippine ten-peso note (₱10) was a denomination of Philippine currency. In its latest incarnation, Apolinario Mabini and Andrés Bonifacio are featured on the front side of the notes, while the Barasoain Church and a Blood Compact scene of the Katipuneros are featured on the reverse side. This banknote was circulated until the demonetization of main banknotes under the New Design Series on January 3, 2018. Its printing was stopped in 2001 and was replaced by coins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frontier (banknotes)</span> 2011 Canadian banknote series

The Frontier series is the seventh series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar released by the Bank of Canada, first circulated in 2011. The polymer banknotes were designed for increased durability and to incorporate more security features over the preceding 2001 Canadian Journey series. The notes feature images that focus on historic Canadian achievements and innovation. Printed on polymer, the 2011 Frontier series was the first series issued by the Bank of Canada printed on a material other than paper. The 2011 Frontier series is being followed by the Vertical series.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.