Canadian twenty-dollar note
The Canadian $20 note is one of the most common banknote of the Canadian dollar; it is the primary banknote dispensed from Canadian automatic teller machines. The newest version, the Frontier Series polymer note, was released to the general public on November 7, 2012, replacing the banknote from the Canadian Journey Series.
Present note
The present $20 banknote was replaced on November 7, 2012 by a polymer-based note featuring Queen Elizabeth II on the face and the Vimy Ridge memorial on the back. The window displays the Peace Tower.On January 18, 2013, a Canadian botanist complained that a foreign maple leaf was used as the emblem on the polymer notes instead of the sugar maple that the country has on its national flag, along with the $50 and $100 notes.
History
All Canadian banknotes underwent a major redesign in 1991, partially to incorporate some of the latest anti-forgery methods. Notes continue to be improved, with another design revealed on August 25, 2004, and placed into circulation on September 29, 2004. Notes were printed on paper composed of pure cotton at two Ottawa companies contracted for the purpose. They are the Canadian Bank Note Company and BA International Inc., a part of the Giesecke & Devrient GmbH group of companies.Each note in the 1991 series was sprinkled with special green ink dots, called planchettes, that glow when exposed to ultraviolet light. The ink can be scraped off, so worn notes tend to have fewer, if any, glowing dots. These were replaced with more permanent ultraviolet-detected threads in the new notes, as well as an ink imprint of the coat of arms.
Canadian Journey Series
Introduced in 2004 and circulated until its replacement in 2012, the Canadian Journey Series 20-dollar note was predominantly green. The face featured a portrait of Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, the Royal Arms of Canada, and a picture of the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings. Security features visible from the face included a holographic stripe along the left side, depicting the number 20 alternated with maple leaves; a watermark of the Queen's portrait; and a broken-up number 20, which resolved itself when backlit. The back depicted artworks by Bill Reid, notably his sculptures Raven and the First Men and Spirit of Haida Gwaii; it also had a quotation from Gabrielle Roy. The back also had a visible security feature: an interleaved metallic strip, reading 20 CAN repeatedly along its length. Yellow dots representing the EURion constellation could be found on both sides. As well as textured printing, the 2004 design incorporates a special tactile feature similar to Braille dots for the blind indicating the denomination. The 2004 $20 note was awarded Bank Note of the Year by the International Bank Note Society in 2005.As with all modern Canadian banknotes, all text is in both English and French.
Twenty dollar view
The view of Moraine Lake in Banff National Park from the top of the moraine rockpile is one of the most photographed locations in all of Canada. That view of the mountains behind the lake in Valley of the Ten Peaks is known as the Twenty Dollar View, as Moraine Lake was featured on the backs of the 1969 and 1979 issues of the Canadian twenty dollar note.| Series | Main colour | Obverse | Reverse | Series Year | Issued | Withdrawn |
| 1935 Series | Rose pink | Princess Elizabeth | Agriculture allegory | 1935 | 11 March 1935 | |
| 1937 Series | Olive green | George VI | Fertility allegory | 1937 | 19 July 1937 | |
| 1954 Series | Olive green | Elizabeth II | Winter landscape, Laurentian Mountains, Quebec | 1954 | 9 September 1954 | |
| Scenes of Canada | Green | Elizabeth II | Moraine Lake and the Canadian Rockies, Alberta | 1969 | 22 June 1970 | 18 December 1978 |
| Scenes of Canada | Green | Elizabeth II | Moraine Lake and the Canadian Rockies, Alberta | 1979 | 18 December 1978 | 29 June 1993 |
| Birds of Canada | Green | Elizabeth II | Common loon | 1991 | 29 June 1993 | 29 September 2004 |
| Canadian Journey Series | Green | Elizabeth II | Artwork of Bill Reid, and an excerpt from Gabrielle Roy's novel The Hidden Mountain | 2004 | 29 September 2004 | 7 November 2012 |
| Frontier Series | Green | Elizabeth II | Canadian National Vimy Memorial and poppies | 2012 | 7 November 2012 |