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$50 bill harder to counterfeit Jeanne Gagnon Northern News Services Published Monday, April 9, 2012
The bill, in circulation since March 26, has enhanced security features, is recyclable and is expected to last much longer than the cotton-based notes, Marc Trudel, an analyst with the Bank of Canada, said in Iqaluit on April 3. He added the new bill is "very hard" to counterfeit.
"These new notes are not only secure, durable, innovative and better for the environment, but ultimately, the greatest benefit to Canadians and the cash system will be in reducing counterfeiting losses," said Trudel.
He added some of the security features include a metallic portrait of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, and a large transparent window with a maple leaf border containing text and small 50s.
A smaller frosted maple leaf window has hidden 50s and the ink is raised for the large 50, Mackenzie King's shoulders and the Bank of Canada wording, Trudel said.
He visited Iqaluit businesses and retailers with the RCMP to educate them on the bill's security features and told them how they can spot a counterfeit bill. He said his best advice is for people and businesses to check their bills.
"Counterfeiters are going to go to places where they know you are not going to check the money," he said. "We could have a million security features on a note but people need to check them to verify them and it takes only a couple of seconds."
Cpl. Denis Lambe said the RCMP has received a couple of reports in the last few weeks of counterfeit money circulating in Iqaluit. He added the Mounties made two large seizures of fake money in Iqaluit in the past year with one person charged for both incidents.
"They seem to be coming from the same business, right now. We're investigating that currently," he said. "It's a concern if people start flooding Iqaluit with fake bills. I am more concerned with getting the training for the people in the retail businesses so they can recognize it right away."
He added the trend is very localized. Police haven't heard of fake money cropping up in the communities. Lambe said fake bills, even if they are not counterfeited very well, are still passing at cash registers in Iqaluit because businesses and retailers see so much employee turnover and the training is lacking.
Trudel said British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec are the three provinces seeing the most counterfeit bills. Nunavut is very low on that list.
A Bank of Canada official traveled to Iqaluit last week to introduced the new $50 polymer bill because of its Northern theme.
On the reverse side, the new bill has an image of the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Amundsen, the word Arctic in Inuktitut and a map of Northern Canada.
The new bill is expected to last at least 10 years as opposed to the five to seven years for the cotton-based ones, said Trudel. It is, however, more expensive to produce. Trudel said it costs 19 cents to make a polymer bill as compared to a dime for the cotton-based ones.
The current cotton-based notes are being phased out of circulation as the new polymers are coming out. The $50 and $100 polymer bills are now in circulation with $5, $10 and $20 bills expected by the end of 2013.
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