After a fake $50 bill was spotted at a restaurant in Estevan Monday, many people in the southeast have been wondering how they can identify if the cash they have in their wallet could be fake.  

The Bank of Canada has nine security features on their polymer notes which started in circulation across the country in 2012. These features are seen from the vantage point of looking at the side of the bill with the face of the person on the bill and apply to the $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 denominations.  

The features from the bank include: 

  1. A metallic portrait of the person that is featured prominently on the bill 

  1. The portrait is on the large window – a transparent part wider than the portrait.  

  2. The word Canada is written in transparent text below the portrait 

  3. There are small numbers below the transparent Canada text. 

  1. There is a maple leaf border to the top left and bottom right of the vertical transparent window that overlaps the window itself. 

  1. A frosted maple leaf window is located in the top-left corner of the bill 

  1. The middle of the frosted maple leaf contains hidden numbers 

  1. BANQUE DU CANADA and BANK OF CANADA are written in raised ink to the top left and bottom right of the transparent vertical strip on the right, by the maple leaf border. 

  1. There is a metallic building at the bottom of that transparent window.  

If you have cash on hand that you feel may be counterfeit, you can take it to a bank or financial institution to check the authenticity. You could also take it to the police to have them check the authenticity of the bill.  

An example of security features on currency from the Bank of CanadaThere are nine security features included on Canadian currency to help illustrate its authenticity.

-with files from Discover Estevan/Andrew McCormack