1954 $1 Inverted Back Design

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The note is not a legitimate error.  Don't repeat my mistake!

The Authentic version, which is a very uncommon error (on '54 notes anyway) will normally have the back printed significantly off-center.  Presumably, the uncut sheet had different sized selvage areas on the top and bottom.  The fact that the margins line up perfectly should be looked at with extreme suspicion.

The Authentic version, which is a very uncommon error (on '54 notes anyway) will normally have the back printed significantly off-center.  Presumably, the uncut sheet had different sized selvage areas on the top and bottom.  The fact that the margins line up perfectly should be looked at with extreme suspicion.

Two examples of an authentic version (back and front).  Note that both banknotes are from the same sheet.

The Charlton Catalogue of Canadian Government Paper Money designates this error with the number BC-37a-E27-iii and references the serial prefix N/L.

The first reported public discovery of this 1954 $1 Inverted Back Design error note was in early 1963 by Mr. Ronald Paul Dore of Ottawa, ON.  He was a hotel manager and his eagle eyes discovered it in a local Ottawa tavern.  He was offered $200 for the note by a local dealer but being the astute business man that he was he turned down the offer and started a bidding war among rival dealers.

Shortly after his discovery the Bank of Canada confirmed the authenticity of his error note and stated "it is one of a sheet of 32 misprinted notes that went astray before they could be destroyed by mint officials."

A week later Mr. Orville McNeil of St. Catherines publicly announced discovering a similar error note that he had stored in a book for several months after a barber refused to take it as legal tender.  He came forward after reading the story in the Globe and Mail newspaper of Mr. Dore's discovery.

I have attached several news articles from 1963 about the discoveries.  They make for interesting reading almost 60 years later.

That's incredibly interesting. I remember reading about that famous error & reading about it somewhere a long time ago. I forget where it was though (could have been at a show).

Really cool to see 2 of them from the same sheet!

Anyway, thanks for sharing!

That's an amazing find!  Where in the world did you get those newspaper clippings?  $200 was a LOT of money back then for anything related to collectible paper money.

This is the note that I had in mind.  Sold for $10,000 in 2019.  It looks to be from the same sheet as well.  I wonder if it's the only Bank of Canada sheet of inverted backs to have ever escaped destruction?  That would make it a scarce error indeed.

Hi All,

 I recently found one of these 1954 inverted back $1 bills

Interestingly, the Serial numbers all end with 37 and have this sequence:

NL 457XX37

NL 4571737 (Example 1)
NL 4574737 (Example 2)
NL 4574837 (Mine)


Thank you for sharing those examples, being so rare I've been unable to find more information on the few known survivors and lookin for any more information the community may have.

Al-Bob, can you please share the information you found about the 2019 sale ?

Thank you,
Shane

Hi All,

 I recently found one of these 1954 inverted back $1 bills

Interestingly, the Serial numbers all end with 37 and have this sequence:

NL 457XX37

NL 4571737 (Example 1)
NL 4574737 (Example 2)
NL 4574837 (Mine)


Thank you for sharing those examples, being so rare I've been unable to find more information on the few known survivors and lookin for any more information the community may have.

Al-Bob, can you please share the information you found about the 2019 sale ?

Thank you,
Shane

Hi Shane,

This is a spectacular note!  Where did you get it and how long have you had it?  I've wanted one for a long time and I thought I had a real one until I was told that it was a fake. 

Dean

Al-Bob, can you please share the information you found about the 2019 sale ?

I can't seem to get a direct link but if you go to https://auctions.canadiancoinsandpapermoney.com/ and type "inverted back" in the search it will come up.

That also came up with another sale in 2024 of serial number 4558737.  Do you want to double check your serial number?  It looks like they all follow the pattern 45xx737.  My guess is that they are all from the same sheet which was skip-numbered by 1000 with xx ranging from 48 to 74 so far.

Hi Shane,

This is a spectacular note!  Where did you get it and how long have you had it?  I've wanted one for a long time and I thought I had a real one until I was told that it was a fake. 

Dean

Hi Dean,

yes, its amazing... I have to get better pictures because its much more vibrant and looks much better in person.

I have only had it a few weeks, I wish I could keep it but I am helping my Uncle sell his collection which included this beauty.

My uncle has had it for over 25 years, it was give to him from his Father in law, Paul Dore the person in the Articles above.  My uncle had never seen those news articles until I shared them with him last week and the look on his face was priceless.

I posted the authentic serial number sequence pattern on your other post (like Al-Bob has also found and shared) to inform collectors what to look for.

I can't seem to get a direct link but if you go to https://auctions.canadiancoinsandpapermoney.com/ and type "inverted back" in the search it will come up.

That also came up with another sale in 2024 of serial number 4558737.  Do you want to double check your serial number?  It looks like they all follow the pattern 45xx737.  My guess is that they are all from the same sheet which was skip-numbered by 1000 with xx ranging from 48 to 74 so far.

Thank you so much, I was able to find the auctions.  These Sales are very helpful to help me price this exceptionally rare error note.

yes, I have also found that is the S/N pattern.  Mine is 48, The Bill owned by Paul Dore and featured in the news papers.