The smell of money has a whole new meaning with Canada’s new $100 bill. The enhanced security features include the smell of maple.
The frosted maple leaf window has 2 tricks (that I know about).
1. If you place the maple leaf window close to your eye and look at a light. There are hidden numbers you can see inside the circle.
2. If you scratch the maple leaf, you can smell maple.
This CTV report, including a segment with a Sannich police woman who investigates fake money, says it’s false. But as a perfumer, I can tell you it’s true.
Last weekend I was sitting in a pub with some friends and one of them knew about this feature so they got me to do a blind sniff test.
The bill smells like maple, or more precisely like immortelle. Immortelle has a herbaceous, honey scent with a hay or tobacco body. It’s maple syrup pancakes. Sweet, rich and wonderful‚ a double entrendre for Canada’s new $100 bill. I love the smell of money. Ingenious.
(Now I need to find a $50 and see if there’s any scent.)
UPDATE: According to this Canadian Press article “Are new bank notes maple syrup scented? Bank of Canada sets record straight”, the Bank of Canada denies there is any maple scent.