# New $20 first color bill since 1905 - Why?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-20-first-color-bill-since-1905-why/174984>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 13, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-20-first-color-bill-since-1905-why/174984 "2003-05-13T16:42:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-20-first-color-bill-since-1905-why/174984/61 "2003-05-19T12:48:27Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by samclem \*  
> \*\*Everything the BEP has printed since 1862 is currenty spendable/exchangeable. I don’t think there is another country which honors their money that far back. Hell, most don’t more than 10-50 years. \*\*

Canada seems to.

While only the Bank of Canada nowadays can issue notes, banks in Canada used to have that right. Those notes can still be redeemed. The Bank’s own “pay to the bearer on demand” notes are still legal tender. There doesn’t seem to be any cut-off date, after which they’re no longer redeemable. See the [Bank of Canada Act](http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/B-2/5520.html#rid-5613):

> [@](#):
>
> **26.** (1) The Bank is responsible for the redemption of notes payable to bearer on demand that were issued and outstanding on March 11, 1935 and immediately prior to that day constituted a direct liability of Canada, and such notes are and continue to be legal tender.
> 
> (2) The Bank is responsible for the redemption of notes of the Canadian banks listed in Schedule R of the Bank Act, chapter B-1 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970, that were issued prior to January 1, 1950 and intended for circulation in Canada

Similarly for coins, issued by the Royal Mint - there’s no cut-off date, and the coins issued by the various Canadian provinces prior to Confederation are still legal tender under the [Currency Act](http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-52/45085.html#rid-45101):

> [@](#):
>
> **7.** (1) A coin is current for the amount of its denomination in the currency of Canada if it was issued under the authority of
> 
> (a) the Royal Canadian Mint Act; or
> 
> (b) the Crown in any province of Canada before it became part of Canada and if the coin was, immediately before October 15, 1952, current and legal tender in Canada.

As I read them, the dates listed in these provisions are the final dates for issuing such notes or coins, after which the Bank of Canada notes and Canadian coins are the sole tender being issued. But if a note or coin was issued and was legal tender prior to these dates, they’re still good money.

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**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-20-first-color-bill-since-1905-why/174984/62 "2003-05-19T13:45:07Z")

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Why peach?

The idea is to have colors that screw each other up in a color copier. That is to say if you can get the peach just right, the blue is off and so on.

Seems a shame to pass up the chance to do a radical redesign. Martin Luther King Junior deserves a banknote.

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