20 Dollars CAN Banknote (1979 Modified Design Issue) 1979

20 Dollars Canadian Dollar (Issued 1979)

Canada in 1979 was governed under the premiership of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, whose Liberal government had been steering the country through a period of economic challenge marked by inflation, energy crises, and ongoing national unity debates. It was a year of political transition, as the federal election of May 1979 would see Joe Clark’s Progressive Conservatives briefly displace Trudeau’s administration, making this banknote a direct product of that pivotal moment in Canadian political history. The Bank of Canada issued this modified design series to improve security and maintain the integrity of the circulating currency during a decade when counterfeiting concerns were rising across the industrialised world. The 1979 modification represents a technical refinement of the earlier Lawson-Bouey series, distinguishing itself through specific printing and serial number adjustments.

On the front, the note is dominated by a finely engraved portrait of Queen Elizabeth II positioned to the right of centre, rendered in a characteristic grey-green intaglio style that captures the Queen in a composed and elegant likeness, wearing a pearl necklace and a formal arrangement befitting her role as Canadian head of state. Her portrait is surrounded by intricate guilloché patterning that fans outward in overlapping wave-like formations of olive green, orange, and red, creating a rich chromatic background that shifts subtly across the face of the note. To the left of centre, the Canadian coat of arms is prominently displayed, featuring the shield supported by the English lion and the Scottish unicorn, with detailed heraldic engraving typical of the era’s high-security printing standards. The central text reads “VINGT 20 TWENTY DOLLARS” in bold typeset, with the word “CANADA” printed beneath in large, commanding serif lettering. The bilingual header along the top reads “BANK OF CANADA — BANQUE DU CANADA,” honouring Canada’s official French and English language policy. The note bears the date “OTTAWA 1979” beneath the central denomination, alongside two facsimile signatures — those of the Deputy Governor and the Governor of the Bank of Canada — accompanied by their respective titles in both official languages. The denomination “20” appears in each corner of the note, and the lower border carries the statement “THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER — CE BILLET A COURS LÉGAL” in small but clearly legible bilingual text. The overall colour palette of the front is a warm olive-green and golden-orange combination with deep intaglio work creating tactile relief across the portrait and heraldic elements.

The reverse presents a sweeping, masterfully engraved landscape scene in a monochromatic deep green palette, depicting what is widely recognised as Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta. The composition shows a calm, reflective lake in the foreground surrounded by dense coniferous forest, with a dramatic chain of rocky mountain peaks rising steeply into a luminous sky in the background. The engraving technique is exceptionally detailed, capturing the texture of the mountainsides, the stillness of the water, and the dense foliage of the trees with fine crosshatched linework that gives the scene considerable depth and atmosphere. To the upper left and lower left of the reverse, intricate guilloché scroll patterns echo the decorative security work found on the front face. The word “TWENTY” appears in the upper left corner and “VINGT” in the lower right, with the numeral “20” occupying the upper right and lower left positions respectively. The serial number 56716350153 is printed twice along the lower margin in evenly spaced numerals, providing the note’s unique identification reference. The overall composition of the reverse balances natural grandeur with precise technical printwork in a manner consistent with the Bank of Canada’s tradition of celebrating the country’s natural landscape on its circulating currency.

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