Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

548 HISTORY OF THE BANKsignature must be written should be dropped. These representationswere evidently successful, as the revision of 1913sanctioned the affixing of both signatures by machinery, butprovided that where this was done "at least one name to eachnote or bill, together with a distinguishing device and number,shall be impressed or engraved under the authority of thebank after the notes are received by the bank from the engraverand printer." The Board of Directors of The CanadianBank of Commerce at once took action under this permission,and on August 29, 1913, ordered that the caduceus and thenumber "12" 1should be adopted as the "distinguishing deviceand number" for this purpose, to be impressed in a suitableplace on each note bearing only printed signatures. Thenumber "12" was adopted because it had been chosen to representthe bank for the purposes of the numerical transit systemwhen that system was first brought into use by the bank, "12"being the number at that time allotted to The Canadian Bankof Commerce in the monthly statements of the chartered banksof Canada, published in the Canada Gazette. Stepswere takento safeguard the notes throughout the operation of printing,which is performed on a special press erected inside a lockedenclosure on the bank's own premises. Since these arrangementswere made, all notes have been signed by machinery,and the "distinguishing device and number" appear on allnotes dated May 1, 1912, bearing the following numbers:Fives676001 and upwards.Tens 468001 "Twenties 107501 "Fifties 015001 "Hundreds 008501 "On July 24, 1918, a new series of $5 and $10 notes was putinto circulation. This date was selected as being the fiftiethanniversary of the day on which the president, Sir EdmundWalker, had entered the service of the bank. Some yearsbefore, the bank had decided, if possible, to secure a series ofchanged to "10."