The 1935 $20 note of the first national banknote series. It features the young Princess Elizabeth, (Bank of Canada currency museum) Canada History, March 11, 1935: the first “Canadian” banknotes ...

Why a 1935 Canadian Banknote Is Set to Sell for Upwards of $250K Valued at a quarter million dollars, ... an example of the very first series of banknotes issued in the early 1930s.

Sporting a necklace and earrings, a 28-year-old Elizabeth first appeared as the Queen on Canadian currency in 1954. (She appeared on the $20 bill in 1935 while Princess Elizabeth).

An effigy of the reigning monarch first started appearing on Canadian coins in 1908, when the Mint began production, then on Canadian bank notes beginning in 1935, when the Bank of Canada launched.