I acquired 3 test Domtar test notes from the Technical Director of the firm. 100,000 Canada bird back $5 notes with Luminus substrate, a Domtar product, were produced and tested in active circulation between 1995 and 1998, before being withdrawn.
Here’s a quick history of Domtar. Founded in England in 1903, the firm was originally called the Dominion Tar and Chemical Company, Limited. The first timber plant was located in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. In 1965, the company changed its name to Domtar Inc. Domtar Inc. holds the patents for a product that could replace paper currency trademarked Luminus. Luminus is a paper sandwich-a laminated product comprised of three layers of paper, film, and paper. The film in the middle is polyester and can contain a color image and other security features. The Bank of Canada obtained the Canadian rights to Luminus and continued to develop it as a potential substrate. The Domtar plant in Beauharnois, Québec, which produced Luminus, has since been closed. It produced bank note papers for more than 20 countries.
Two of the three test notes I purchased are attributed in my catalogs “The Catalog of Printers Test Notes – 14th Edition” eBook and the new North American Printers Promotional Sheets & Test Notes” book. I have not seen these offered for sale in over a decade.
There are quite a few Canadian firms that produced test notes:
• Ashton-Potter Company (moved to the U.S.)
• B A Bank Note Group (British American Bank Note Company)
• Canada Bank Note Company
• Canadian Bank Note Company
• Dominion Bank Note Company
• Domtar Incorporated
• Nanotech Security Corp.
• Opalux
• Silba International Banknote Design & Security Printing Inc
Here's the new find, attributed as DOM-121. The note appears blank when viewed normally. A back light reveals the colored polyester layer and a black light reveals the UV sensitive security ink.
