Banknotes that are no longer in issue in Canada, and are being removed from circulation, are said to be "withdrawn from circulation".
The Bank of Canada, Canada's sole issuer of bank notes, currently issues five different denominations ($5, $10, $20, $50 and $100). Smaller denominations have been replaced by coins, and larger ones are felt to be no longer required in an era of electronic transmission of most large transactions. There are no plans to re-issue Canadian banknotes larger than $100.
Notes issued by these former issuing authorities are considered to be withdrawn from circulation:
All Bank of Canada notes issued prior to the current Frontier Series are being withdrawn from circulation. [1] The following Bank of Canada denominations included in previous series have been permanently retired, and as of January 1, 2021, these notes are no longer legal tender: [2]
The $25 note was issued only in 1935, to commemorate the silver jubilee of King George V. As with other 1935 issues, separate English and French versions were printed. This was a limited release that was never printed in large quantities. The note was coloured an appropriate royal purple; both the King & his consort Queen Mary were featured, with Windsor Castle appearing on the back. The $25 note was withdrawn from circulation in 1937. [3]
The $500 denomination was included only in the 1935 series. No note of this denomination has been printed since. The note was coloured sepia, or burnt sienna; the face featured Sir John A. Macdonald, and the back depicted a fertility allegory. The $500 note was withdrawn from circulation in 1938. [3]
There had been two previous printings of the $500 note by the Dominion of Canada, one in 1925 featuring King George V, and one in 1911 picturing Queen Mary. Of the latter, only three are known to still exist, one of which sold for US$322,000 in a Heritage auction in October 2008. [4] It is unlikely that further 1911 notes survived the Depression.
Printing of the $1 note ceased in 1989 after the release of the loonie (in 1986) had been implemented. These notes are virtually never seen in circulation today. The most recent banknote series that included the $1 note was the Scenes of Canada, with the $1 note released in 1974, coloured green and black. The face featured a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II; the back featured an image of Parliament Hill from across the Ottawa River, with log driving activities taking place on the water.
Printing of the $2 note ceased on February 18, 1996, with initial release of the toonie, a coin that replaced it. These notes are seldom seen in circulation today (in Alberta, they were seldom seen even prior to 1996, and considered unlucky -- where the toonie became common). The most recent banknote series that included the two-dollar note was the Birds of Canada series in 1986, in which this note was a terra cotta colour. The face featured a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II; the back featured a meadow scene with two robins.
Printing of the $1,000 note ceased in 2000. The denomination was withdrawn on the advice of the Solicitor General and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), as it was often used for money laundering and organized crime. [5] The Bank of Canada has requested that financial institutions return $1,000 notes for destruction. [6] The most recent issue of this denomination was in 1992 as part of the Birds of Canada series. It was pink in colour, featuring Queen Elizabeth II on the face, and two pine grosbeaks on the back.
Currency withdrawn from circulation remains legal tender, but this does not oblige any creditor to accept it as a medium of exchange. [7] Withdrawn currency is usually exchanged at commercial bank branches, though some banks require that exchangers be bank customers. The bank then returns the withdrawn currency, together with worn out currency, to the Bank of Canada for destruction.
Liabilities for outstanding provincial and Dominion of Canada notes was transferred to the Bank of Canada in 1935, and liability for chartered bank notes in 1950. As of December 31, 2016, the total value of provincial, Dominion, chartered bank, and discontinued Bank of Canada denominations still outstanding is $1.139 billion, of which more than $765 million is in $1,000 notes. [8] The liability for this amount remains on the Bank of Canada's books up to the present day.
On February 27, 2018, The Government of Canada announced in their 2018 Federal Budget that there are plans to make all withdrawn banknotes no longer legal tender. If passed into law, these notes will still retain face value and may still be redeemed at banks in exchange for current banknotes. [9] The current five denominations—$5, $10, $20, $50 and $100—will not be affected at this time, but the government may decide to remove legal tender status from older series versions of these denominations in the future. [10]
As of January 1, 2021, the $1, $2, $25, $500 and $1,000 bills from every series are no longer legal tender. [2] All other prior Bank of Canada issued notes remain as legal tender.
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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.
The Bank of England, which is now the central bank of the United Kingdom, British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories, has issued banknotes since 1694. In 1921 the Bank of England gained a legal monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales, a process that started with the Bank Charter Act of 1844 when the ability of other banks to issue notes was restricted.
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.
New Zealand dollar banknotes are the banknotes in circulation in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Tokelau, Niue and the Pitcairn Islands, denominated in the New Zealand dollar. They are issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and since 1999 have been made of polymer.
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.
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The 2000 rupee note was introduced by the Reserve Bank of India on 8 November 2016. The introduction of this denomination of the Indian rupee was part of the government's demonetization exercise aimed at curbing corruption, black money and counterfeit currency. On the same day, the Indian government announced the demonetization of the existing 500 rupee and 1000 rupee notes. The intention behind demonetization was to invalidate the old notes to disrupt illegal activities and promote a shift towards digital transactions.
