Scrawled images of Mr Spock have started appearing on Canadian $ 5 bills , with Star Trek fans defacing the former prime minster in honor of actor Leonard Nimoy . The act of giving Sir Wilfrid Laurier - who was head of government from 1896 to 1911 - Spock 's pointy Vulcan ears , sharp eyebrows and signature bowl haircut is apparently nothing new . But following the death of 83-year-old Nimoy last week from lung cancer , amateur artists have been out in force , even triggering a reaction from the national bank . Tribute : Scrawled images of Mr Spock have started appearing on Canadian $ 5 bills , with Star Trek fans defacing the former prime minster in honor of actor Leonard Nimoy . Long-running tradition : The act of giving Sir Wilfrid Laurier - who was head of government from 1896 to 1911 - Spock 's pointy Vulcan ears , sharp eyebrows and signature bowl haircut is apparently nothing new . A spokeswoman from the central reserve , Josianne Menard , said Tuesday that scribbling on the blue bills is inappropriate because it defaces a symbol and source of national pride . Menard warned defaced bills may not circulate for as long and risk being rejected by retailers . 'There are important reasons why it should not be done , ' she noted . However , Canada 's central bank confirmed this week that it is not illegal to deface or even mutilate banknotes . Following Nimoy 's death Friday , social media users posted their own versions of Sir Laurier 's Vulcan makeover to honor the actor . But following the death of 83-year-old Nimoy ( seen here in a 1982 episode of Star Trek ) last week from lung cancer , amateur artists have been out in force , even triggering a reaction from the national bank . 'Spock your $ 5 bills for Leonard Nimoy , ' a group called the Canadian Design Resource tweeted alongside its depiction . Images of the altered bills circulated widely online and attracted international media attention to something many Canadians had never seen before - although for others , it was hardly a new frontier . Calgary artist Tom Bagley , who posted his own Spock-Laurier hybrid on Facebook and Flickr after Nimoy 's death , described it as a traditional bar trick to impress the waitress . ' I always thought it was OK as long as the numbers were intact - it still counted as money , ' he said . 'That 's what I heard . Because stuff happens , like say you spill spaghetti sauce all over it or something like that . ' 'Spocking Fives ' even has its own identity on Facebook , where Canadians are encouraged to post their revision of Sir Laurier ’ s face . A description accompanying the page - founded in 2008 - states : 'The origins of this mysterious tradition are shrouded in secrecy , although it is widely believed to be totally awesome . '
The act of giving Sir Wilfrid Laurier - who was head of government from 1896 to 1911 - Spock 's pointy Vulcan ears , sharp eyebrows and signature bowl haircut is apparently nothing new . But following the death of 83-year-old Nimoy last week from lung cancer , sketchers have been out in force . The doodles have triggered a reaction from the national bank . A spokeswoman from the central reserve , Josianne Menard , said Tuesday that it defaces a Canadian symbol and source of national pride . 'There are important reasons why it should not be done , ' she added .