2 Dollars

The 1954 series is best known for the "Devil's Face" controversy — an optical effect in the Queen's hair that many Canadians interpreted as a satanic profile. Public pressure was sufficient that the Bank of Canada had British American Bank Note Company modify the portrait engraving, producing what collectors now distinguish as the "modified" type. The original plates were altered starting around 1956, making early Coyne-Towers examples the most scrutinized of the run.

Three signature combinations span nearly a decade of issue, reflecting two governor transitions. Rasminsky replaced Coyne in 1961 under genuinely tense circumstances — Coyne had publicly clashed with the Diefenbaker government over monetary policy, a dispute that escalated into a formal parliamentary vote on his conduct.