Possible $20 error

News: Welcome to the Canadian Paper Money Forum.

Hello, I am a coin collector and I have little knowledge of bills, but I came across a bill that appears to possibly be an error.

The reverse has an imprint (mirror image) of the "CANADA VINGT - TWENTY DOLLARS" from the front, as well as the top of the queen's hair. It looks like it was laid on another sheet that was not dry yet. See the images:

http://www.ethervizion.com/post/20_note.jpg
http://www.ethervizion.com/post/20_note_zoom.jpg

Is this an error? Or perhaps indicative of a counterfeit? I'm no expert, but I don't see any signs of it being a counterfeit (the watermark and metallic components are present). If it is an error, any sense of value? I don't know how to grade bills, but it has a fair number of what I'd call light folds (not quite creases) but still has a bit of general new crispness.

Thanks for any info provided!

-Karl

Yes. You have a pretty nice error.

It should be an offset error. The transformation of ink is caused by excess use of ink or insufficient drying of the sheet.

If you want a price guide, I suggest you get the Charlton Catalogue of Canadian Government Paper Money.

A grading guide can be found here.

Thanks for the info, Neon Zidane.

This would appear to be a minor offset error and classified in the Charlton 20th ed. as (Offset, face or back, up to 25%) with a price of about $100 in uncirculated condition. From the scan, the note appears to have a dirt mark around the left prefix, and the corners do not appear to be sharp.

Thanks, Elwoodbluesca. Based on the basic grading guide that Neon Zidane linked to, I would say that it's VF.