As Ginette Crew, a Senior Analyst at the Bank of Canada (the only organization allowed to issue Canadian paper money) points out, “All bank notes have security features that are reliable, and quick and easy to use. In just a few seconds, you can do several checks as you're accepting bank notes to make sure your money is genuine. It's a good habit to verify your money as you receive it-- just as you check your change and credit card receipts. It's quick and easy to do, you protect yourself, and you eliminate opportunities for counterfeiters.”
The Bank of Canada suggests “Verifying bank notes is a quick, reliable, and inexpensive way to avoid counterfeits. It takes just a few minutes to learn how to verify bills, and only seconds to check them! Think of verifying bank notes as the authorization process for cash transactions—just like getting an electronic authorization for debit and credit card payments.”
There are two series of notes circulating in Canada – the older Birds of Canada series and the newer Canadian Journey line.
Canadian Journey Money Line
All Canadian Journey bills from the $5 note to the $100 bill have serial numbers that never repeat, are coloured, and have raised ink. Run your finger over the large numeral, the coat of arms and the words BANK OF CANADA – BANQUE DU CANADA to feel the raised ink. No bank note should be smooth to the touch.
The $5 and $10 bills have three prismatic maple leaves. When the note is tilted, the leaves will change from an image to a shiny gold colour.
All newer $5 and $10 bills have hidden numbers. When tilted at eye level, a 5 or 10 will become visible.
On the front of the $5 bill, you’ll notice to the left of Wilfrid Laurier’s portrait the words “Five 5 Cinq” in miniscule printing. These tiny words should never be blurry.
New $20s, $50s or $100s have a curved mirrored stripe which appears to move and change colour as the bill is tilted. The stripe contains holographic pictures of maples leaves that change colour when angled and images of the number 100. The security line on the back of the note changes from green to gold.
Birds of Canada Money Line
All Birds of Canada bills have the raised ink, serial numbers, miniscule printed words, sharp lined patterns, and are coloured. The $20, $50, and $100 bills have a colour patch in the top left corner. It should change from gold to green when tilted. This is hard to reproduce on counterfeit bills.
All Canadian paper money has crisp, well-defined lines. Look closely at portraits, especially the circles in the eyes, to verify a bill. Check out the lines around the parliament buildings.
Security features on banknotes are quick, easy, and reliable to use. Jonathan Hart, a banker at one of Canada’s top banks who has been in the industry for over 15 years wants people to remember, “A real bills has texture to it. It won’t be smooth. The newer bills have holograms so if you hold them up to the light, you can see a replica of the portrait in the hologram. That is one of the easier built-in safety features of the bill, one of the anti-counterfeiting measures that have been put into the bills that make it easier to tell if it is a real bill versus a counterfeit bill. If it doesn’t feel right, look for the hologram. It is a quick and easy way; you can see if it is there and be reassured.” (Jonathan Hart is not his real name due to legal issues with identifying his bank.)
For additional information, check out:
- Bank of Canada
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- Catching Counterfeit Cash by Julie King
- Prevention, A Sound Investment
- Counterfeit Money Issues in Canada
- (All the above web sites were accessed on November 3, 2010)
Toby Welch - Toby is a full-time freelance writer who specializes in magazine articles, online writing, e-books, and manuscript editing.
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