1 Dollar

The 1935 series was the Bank of Canada's inaugural issue, released the same year the bank opened — March 11, 1935. Ottawa had deliberately kept production domestic, awarding the contract to the Canadian Bank Note Company rather than sending the work abroad as colonial-era banks had routinely done. Two signature varieties exist for the dollar denomination: Osborne/Towers and Osborne/Ralston, the latter appearing after James Ilsley replaced Ralston as Minister of Finance. Confirming which you have requires careful attention to the lower-right signature.

English and French versions were printed as entirely separate notes, not bilingual face designs — a distinction that matters for completeness collectors building the full series.