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Topic: Who was the printing company?  (Read 7143 times)
Hunter
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« on: February 16, 2009, 08:10:37 pm »

     I have a curiosity about who printed the two letter prefixes for the Multicolour issues of 1969-1975.
Here's what I know. All the Bank of Canada notes prior to 1967 have the imprints of the banknote companies found at the bottom centre of the note. The 1967 issue the denominational letter indicates who the printer is. In 1979 the $5 and $20 banknotes the second number in the serial number signifies who the printer is. For all the banknotes that follow this includes the three letter prefixes of 1969-1975, Birds of Canada series and The Canadian Journey series. The first letter of the prefix indicates the printer.
     So for the two letter prefix of 1969-1975 there is no imprints, no denominational letter and the first letter of the prefix does not tell you if the British American Bank Note Company or the Canadian Bank Note Company was the printer. All that leaves is the Back Plate Numbers. If this is the only way to distinguish who it was, then who would have this information?

Is it just a harmless prefix-kix or do I live for that next prefix-fix?
BWJM
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« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2009, 11:26:18 pm »

The first digit of the two-digit prefixes is the denominational letter.
These letters are as follows:

BABN:
$1: A, G, L, M, N, O
$2; B, R, U
$100: J

CBN:
$1: F, I, P
$5: C, S, X
$10: D, T, V
$20: E, W, Y
$50: H

Unused:
K: Reserved for $1,000
Q: Never used
Z: Not needed

The above information was determined based on orientation of asterisks and ranges of plate numbers. The $2 through $100 notes were only printed by one company per denomination, but the $1 notes were printed by both companies. BABN printed the vast majority of $1 notes (A, G, L, M, N, O), but CBN had a few in there too (F, I, P).

This information is not yet in the Charlton guide (AFAIK - maybe I missed it, but I checked), so I'll try to get it included in the GPM22.

[edit]Reorganized layout of data --BWJM[/edit]
« Last Edit: February 17, 2009, 12:26:46 pm by BWJM »

BWJM, F.O.N.A.
Life Member of CPMS, RCNA, ONA, ANA, IBNS, WCS.
President, IBNS Ontario Chapter.
Treasurer, Waterloo Coin Society.
Show Chair, Cambridge Coin Show.
Fellow of the Ontario Numismatic Association.
friedsquid
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« Reply #2 on: February 17, 2009, 07:33:02 am »

What happened to the "W" abbit ???



Always looking for #1 serial number notes in any denomination/any series
BWJM
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« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2009, 08:11:46 am »

What happened to the "W" abbit ???
Sorry - Added.

BWJM, F.O.N.A.
Life Member of CPMS, RCNA, ONA, ANA, IBNS, WCS.
President, IBNS Ontario Chapter.
Treasurer, Waterloo Coin Society.
Show Chair, Cambridge Coin Show.
Fellow of the Ontario Numismatic Association.
Hunter
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« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2009, 06:16:56 pm »

     I'm impressed your very smart, but can you tell me how to determine which printing company printed the 1967 centennial with the special 1867-1967 commemorative serial number?

Is it just a harmless prefix-kix or do I live for that next prefix-fix?
BWJM
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« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2009, 06:31:33 pm »

To the best of my knowledge, it is impossible to determine which notes were printed by which company for the special serial number "1867 1967" notes.

The regularly-numbered notes are discernible based on their prefix: BABN printed F/P through M/P, *B/M and *F/P. CBN printed L/O through S/O, *L/O and *N/O.

I will double-check on the "1867 1967" notes because something is bugging me about that. I'll reply back here when I know more.

BWJM, F.O.N.A.
Life Member of CPMS, RCNA, ONA, ANA, IBNS, WCS.
President, IBNS Ontario Chapter.
Treasurer, Waterloo Coin Society.
Show Chair, Cambridge Coin Show.
Fellow of the Ontario Numismatic Association.
 

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