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Holographic Stripe
Tilt the note, and brightly coloured numerals (20)
and maple leaves will "move" within the shiny metallic stripe on the
front of the note. Colours will change through the various shades of
the rainbow. There is a colour-split within each maple leaf. If you look
carefully, smaller numerals (20) appear in the background of the three-dimensional
stripe. The stripe has curved edges. |
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Watermark Portrait
Hold the note to the light and a small, ghost-like
image of the portrait appears to the left of the large numeral (20).
A smaller numeral (20) is also evident. This watermark is embedded in
the paper and can be seen from both sides of the note. In the absence
of light, the watermark is not visible. |
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Windowed Security Thread
Hold the note to the light and a continuous solid
vertical line appears. From the back of the note, this security feature
resembles a series of exposed metallic dashes (windows) that shift from
gold to green when the note is tilted. Small characters (CAN20) are printed
on this security thread, which is woven into the paper. |
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See-Through Number
Hold the note to the light. Look for this feature
between the watermark and the large numeral (20). The irregular marks
on the front and back will form a complete and perfectly aligned
numeral 20. |
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Raised Print (Intaglio)
Run your fingers over the front of the note. The ink
on the large numeral 20, the Coat of Arms and the words BANK OF CANADA
BANQUE DU CANADA feels thicker to the touch. |
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Fine-Line Printing
Look for the sharp, well-defined lines that form background
patterns on the note. |
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Microprinting
Look for microprinting: small, clearly defined
characters within the diagonal lines around the portrait, to the right
of the image of the Parliament Buildings, and inside the large numeral 20. |
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Fluorescence
Place the note under UV light. Look for the following elements,
which are not visible in normal light:
- the text BANQUE DU CANADA 20 BANK OF CANADA glows
over the portrait in interlocking colours of yellow and red on the
front of the note,
- fibres that appear randomly on both sides of the note glow red or
yellow. (The blue fibres, visible in normal light, do not glow.)
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Serial Number
A three-letter prefix followed by a seven-digit number is printed twice
on the back of each note. |
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Colours
Some colours are difficult to reproduce; you may notice a difference
in tone when comparing a suspect note with a genuine note. |