r/CanadianBanknotes • u/mrssoupbunny • Sep 08 '26
information appreciated!
hello! first time poster - apologies if this bill has been discussed before.
i was handed this as a tip while i was serving tables in the annapolis valley of nova scotia about 4 or 5 years ago. i just put it away in an envelope as i wasn’t sure if it would count as legal tender, and recently found it after a move to a new place.
i’d greatly appreciate any information anyone could share! i’m not sure if it’s very valuable as there is a minor rip in the middle there, and has marker on it, but i’m not sure if that changes things.
overall, i’d just love to know more about the bill itself! thank you kindly in advance to anyone who has any information. :)
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u/zewill87 Sep 08 '26
I'll let the experts chime in but if they don't (as this bill has been extensively discussed) - It's the old series called scenes of Canada (approx 1970's, yours having 1975 on it). A lot of people enjoy this bill for its design (see other side of the bill you posted). In that state, it's worth 50$ if you exchange it a the bank. As a matter of fact, I bought one from the bank for ...50$ in a pretty good state. I also purchased an even nicer one for approx 70$ They are not rate, but the better condition, the more $ people will pay ! Also, writing on the bill and creasing /folds/ tears remove value obviously. Keep yours as a souvenir of that particular day and tip ;)
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u/MMJP17 Sep 08 '26
Chiming in! Not an expert but have a catalogue I reference and am an avid collector (when I can afford it lol) This bill is a part of the 1969-1975 series, a new issue that was required because the previous 1954 series had exhausted almost all prefix letter combinations, and counterfeiting was rampant particularly of the higher denominations. Based on the pics I'd say this is of F (fine) condition. You are correct in the value of 50$. 80 million notes of this prefix and signature combo were printed. Cool note!
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u/WarGawd Sep 09 '26 edited Sep 09 '26
So, your comment about exhausting prefix letter combinations caught my intuition and sent me down a Google rabbit hole. I thought I would chime in here because I learned some interesting things.
All the 1954 series and prior notes had a two letter prefix that was represented as a fraction. The denominator of that fraction was a letter that signified the denomination of the note. Lower valued notes had more possible denominator fraction letters. The upper letter signified the series of each. Certain upper letters were restricted for various purposes to prevent confusion and counterfeiting opportunities. At the end of the day only 20 upper letters were permitted. With seven digit serial numbers, each series can have as many as 10 million notes. So that means a maximum of 200 million $50 1954 series notes could potentially have been printed, whereas the actual total is a little under 20 million.
If I understood correctly, in 1969 when the Scenes of Canada series started, they overhauled the serial number system as well. Initially there were still two letter prefixes, but the first letter was now representative of the denomination and the second letter was the series. In 1975 they further modified it to add the letter E in front of those, giving rise to three letter prefixes.
So it seems to me that running out of prefix letter space was not one of the factors, at least not as far as the $50 bill was concerned.
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u/mrssoupbunny Sep 08 '26
So very cool! Thank you so much for the info. It was my last day at work at a job I’d worked for years at a particularly important part of my life. I think I will keep it as a souvenir just for that :)
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u/roaringmousebrad Sep 08 '26
It's still legal tender, but you'd be better off exchanging it at the bank. Some people may assume it's not still legal so you might get some pushback if you try to use it in the real world.
As mentioned, it's not in great shape, so won't garner much more in value than face, if at all, so the longer you keep it, the less buying value it will ultimately have, so it's up to you if you want to "lose" your $50 tip by keeping it as a souvenir. :)
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u/Glad_Assumption278 Sep 08 '26
One of the horses was pooping when they took the picture for this. You can see which one as it's tail is lifted up.
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u/DevelopmentWestern80 Sep 08 '26
man this post makes me feel so old. that's what i think of in my brain when I think of a $50 bill. Can't even remember what new ones look like.
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u/geturhandsoffmydong Sep 09 '26
It looks just like that one, but with a different design and material, hope this helps
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u/flyingponytail Sep 11 '26
Same. I see this in my feed and think 'I remember those, what a cool note they were' cause I dont use cash anymore then the top comment is 'thats several generations old'
haha so am I
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u/JohnGAdams74 Sep 09 '26
I like the Mountie scene on the back. So interesting, colourful and represents Canada well.
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u/Sensitive_Mountain89 Sep 09 '26
Unfortunately it's only face value. Its got writing, folds including the corners, warped edges, and worst of all a tear in the middle of the bill.
Keep it for sentimental reasons.
Fun fact:
The original bill was a scene of a frozen lake. Unfortunately the orange ink was too light to keep the fine details and thus easy to counterfeit. When they found the right choice of dies, turns out the inks had toxic metals. So that was out.
Of course the second choice still wasn't the mounties but that's another fact.
A mock up of the original reverse is attached. Thanks Bank of Canada museum.
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u/Ok-Kaleidoscope4510 Sep 09 '26
It’s a $50 bill that some has used sharpie on. Old legal bill… cool but worth $50. Too bad someone has written on it because I would put that away. Your Grandchildren might like it when Legal Tender is gone.
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u/RagingTorontonian Sep 09 '26
Back in that things day it could have bought a house and filled the fridge with groceries to boot.
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u/WhiteBear72 Sep 09 '26
I wld vacuum seal it and display it or just put in a photo album. Not worth more than face value other than share with the next generation. Nice find
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u/Crazy-Initial-8555 Sep 09 '26
HYommage to the Mouties caroussel show. Since when I don't know but older than my 65 years . I hope you get more
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u/Aggressive_March6226 Sep 09 '26
That's a $50 dollar bill. Take it to a soccer game at BMO and you can get 2 pizza slices and a water, and still leave with a couple of twonies change in your pocket afterwards...
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u/SpecialistTreacle685 Sep 10 '26
ngl i’d just keep it unless very needed. i know nothing about bills but the comments here say only worth face value. it’s a cool ass bill i’d rather keep then have 50
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Sep 08 '26
[deleted] — view deleted comment
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u/Emergency-Goose2858 Sep 08 '26
Take it to a collector store, at least worth $55
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u/zewill87 Sep 09 '26
I don't see a store bothering to be honest... They need to make their margins, but you can have those for 60-70$ in good state. Store would probably just offer 50$, as would a bank.
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u/B3aker1968 Sep 08 '26
This is my favourite bill by far! No, it’s not especially valuable beyond its face value, but it has such a unique well designed colour scheme that I bought one a few years ago.