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50 Dollars
| Issuer | Bank of Canada / Banque du Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1954 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 176 x 80 mm |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in olive-green and black intaglio on a pale underprint. A portrait vignette of Queen Elizabeth II occupies the right side, rendered in a youthful likeness after a photograph by Yousuf Karsh. The bilingual inscription BANK OF CANADA – BANQUE DU CANADA runs across the lower centre, with the denomination expressed in English and French flanking the large numeral 50 at centre, and two serial numbers printed in red at upper left and upper right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in orange-brown intaglio and presents a large central vignette of a rocky Atlantic coastal seascape, with waves breaking against rugged shoreline rocks and a distant headland under an open sky. The denomination FIFTY DOLLARS 50 CINQUANTE DOLLARS appears in a panel at the top, while BANK OF CANADA – BANQUE DU CANADA is lettered across the lower margin. Repeated numeral 50 guards appear at each corner within the ornamental border. |
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| Comments |
The 1954 series is best known for the "Devil's Face" controversy — a combination of engraved highlights in the Queen's hair that many Canadians interpreted as a demonic profile. Public pressure was sufficient that the Canadian Bank Note Company retouched the master die, and revised plates were introduced from 1956 onward. On the $50, this distinction matters for collectors: Devil's Face examples carry the Coyne-Towers signature pairing, while modified-hair notes appear across all three signature combinations.
The Coyne-Towers pairing on this denomination is the scarcest of the three, as Towers retired in late 1954.