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CBC/CBC - On the right side of the new $20 bill is what some experts say is a Norway maple leaf, not a Canadian maple leaf via Yahoo!News
Some botanists are shaking their heads at the new polymer bills because they say the money features a maple leaf from Norway, and not Canada, although that's not how the Bank of Canada sees it.
The Norway maple came to North America in the 18th century, imported by a Philadelphia merchant and peddled as a garden adornment. But lately it has been turning up in all kinds of places, including the official logos of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., and the FIFA under-20 World Cup of Soccer.
The Canadian Television Fund and the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada have also made maple leaf errors, according to botanists.
Sean Blaney, senior botanist of the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre, said he never expected to see the Norway maple leaf on a $20 bill.
"It's a species that's invasive in Eastern Canada and is displacing some of our native species, and it's probably not an appropriate species to be putting on our native currency," Blaney told CBC News.
The Bank of Canada, which makes the banknotes, denied the bills include a Norway maple leaf. A spokesperson said the leaf is a stylized blend of different Canadian maple species.
But Blaney argued it looks nothing like any of the 10 maples native to Canada.
"It seems a bit like an after-the-fact explanation to me. The bottom line is that, the image on the bill looks exactly like a Norway maple, however it was derived," he said.
University of Ottawa Prof. Julian Starr, also a research scientist at the Canadian Museum of Nature, specializes in plant identification and classification.
He has been consulted by the Royal Canadian Mint about the botanical accuracy of its coins, but he was not shown this maple leaf.
"This could not be confused with a native species of Canada," said Starr. "It basically looks like a Norway maple."
There are 400 million bank notes already in circulation, including $20, $50 and $100 bills. There are plans to print another 1.2 billion more bank notes, including $5 and $10 bills.
A Kelowna bank teller has reported that she had heard of cases in which several new polymer banknotes had melted together inside a car. Photo courtesy: Nathan Denette, The Canadian Press Files , The Canadian Press via vancouversun.com
The Canadian government has taken a lot of flack lately - on every level of government. I happen to believe they deserve it; but, that is only my humble opinion.
After much ado about nothing it turns out, the Bank of Canada released their new banknotes - state of the art; harder to counterfeit; stronger; harder to destroy; and, a step into the future. Yeah, right!
Not long after the bill are released, there is a small; but, decided trickle of people alleging their bills have been baked. Baked? Why would anyone cook their money? Turns out baked has a completely different meaning when used regarding our new currency.
Disclosing details of behind-the-scenes discussions about tales of melting banknotes could endanger national security or international relations, says Canada's central bank.
In response to a formal request from The Canadian Press, the Bank Of Canada released 134 pages of internal records - almost completely blanked out - concerning allegations its new polymer bills melted in the scorching summer sun. Almost entirely blacked out - hmmm...might there be something they don't want the public to know.
The bank began issuing $100 polymer banknotes in late 2011, saying they were harder to counterfeit than paper notes and would last much longer. It has since released $50 and $20 notes, with $10 and $5 ones due this year. What they didn't tell us was that most money machines (ATMs, transit ticket machines, etc.) don't recognize the new bills.
Unconfirmed reports of cooked currency emerged in July when a Kelowna bank teller said she had heard of cases in which several bills had melted together inside a car. For those who don't know, Kelowna and surrounding area is British Columbia's "desert" region. In the summer, it gets tremendously hot and dry. Items left on the dashboard of a car parked in the sun in Kelowna WILL melt. The bank swiftly denied that its new bills could be affected by heat in these ways; however, I'll lay my money on the power of the Kelowna sunshine magnified and concentrated by a windshield.
The records released under the Access to Information Act show the reports stirred up not only a flurry of media interest but a series of emails over more than a week among bank officials, including Gerry Gaetz, the chief of currency, and Erik Balodis, a scientific adviser.
In an emailed response to questions, bank spokesman Jeremy Harrison said the institution has seen nothing since the reports first emerged to change its initial assessment.
"The bank stands by its statements made this summer that polymer bank notes cannot be affected by the types and levels of heat as has been suggested in last summer's news reports, and has seen no evidence to the contrary," Harrison said.
He noted the bank had performed "extensive and rigorous tests" before issuing the notes.
But the bank isn't willing to reveal much about its internal deliberations concerning the allegedly baked bills.
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