Canadian twenty-dollar bill

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Front of $20 bill

Back of $20 bill

The Canadian $20 bill is one of the most common banknotes of Canadian currency. It is the main banknote dispensed by ABMs.

The current 20-dollar bill is predominantly green in colour. The front features a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (Queen of Canada), the coat of arms, and a picture of the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings. Security features visible from the front include 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 resolves itself when backlit. The reverse side depicts artworks by Bill Reid, notably his sculptures Raven and the First Men and Spirit of Haida Gwaii; it also has a quotation from Gabrielle Roy. The reverse also has a visible security feature: an interleaved metallic strip, reading '20 CAN' repeatedly along its length. Yellow dots representing the EURion constellation can be found on both sides (and on all 2001 series notes). As well as textured printing, this new 2004 design incorporates a special tactile feature similar to Braille dots for the blind indicating the denomination.

An older, now less common design still remains in circulation as of July 2006. It features, on the front, a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the coat of arms, and a picture of the Library of Parliament. On the reverse side is a wilderness scene with two Common Loons. This 20 was the lowest denomination to have a holographic sticker showing the amount in the top left side, which changes from gold to green when tilted. The front has a wavy background of extremely small but still clear numeral 20s. This "micro-printed" background is very hard to copy. Some of the printing on a 20 is textured so that it is easy to feel, quite different from normal printing.

All Canadian banknotes underwent a major redesign in 1991, partially to incorporate some of the latest anti-forgery methods. Bills continue to be improved, with the latest design revealed on August 25, 2004, and placed into circulation on September 29, 2004. Notes are 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 bill 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 bills tend to have fewer, if any, glowing dots. These were replaced with more permanent ultraviolet-detected threads in the new bills, as well as an ink imprint of the coat of arms.

As with all modern Canadian banknotes, all text is in both English and French.