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Canadian island finalizes $100 design posted 7/26/02

Japanese-Canadian woman interned by the government during World War II will be depicted on the face of the $100 denomination in a series of local currency for a British Columbia island community.

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B.C. island's own currency not easy to forge posted 4/02/02
Adrian Humphreys National Post

In issuing its own currency, designed as a gimmick to boost tourism and raise money, the residents of an eclectic West Coast community have released what may be the most secured bank notes on the planet. Talk about the new currency with artists and artisans on Salt Spring Island, a lush spot off the coast of Vancouver Island that relishes its off-the-beaten-track reputation, and they will brag about the artwork; locally produced paintings are featured on each bill - including a work by Robert Bateman, the famed Canadian wildlife artist and island resident, on the $100. Among island community activists, there is considerable expectation for the social benefits the effort many bring, with profits earmarked for environmentally friendly transit and sustainable agricultural projects.

Off of the island, however, there is excitement of a different type. "Stack for stack, bill for bill, this is the most secure bill in the world, said Andrew McTaggart, managing director of AdlerTech International, a Canadian firm that put its cutting -edge security features into the Salt Spring Island currency. "We've made a bill that is impervious to counterfeiting and an absolute set of authenticating methods that cannot be fooled," he said. "This is more secure than the new notes coming out right now from the Bank of Canada."

The irony of a community symbolic of a quieter lifestyle - where many go as a retreat from the rat race - issuing bills designed to foil sophisticated forgers and high-tech felons does not escape Mr. McTaggart, who is based in Toronto.

... Mr. McTaggart believes that its latest creation, called the Halo system, cannot be beat by today's forgers. Halo embeds multiple layers of images that are visible only when a clear plastic card, about the size of a thick credit card, is placed over top. The bank of Canada, producer of all Canada's bank notes, is not prepared to confirm or deny Mr. McTaggart's claims that the island cash is more secure than the new line of Canadian bills.

Local artists design private currency posted 3/15/02

Canadian island uses own money. Not all currencies are national. In British Columbia, the residents of Salt Spring Island use a local currency depicting designs by local artists, one with an international reputation.

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