Catalog
1 Dollar
| Issuer | Union Bank, Montreal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1838 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar (1858-date) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black intaglio on cream-coloured cotton paper, with the denomination ONE rendered in large ornate letters at both left and right margins. A central pastoral vignette occupies the upper register, flanked by large numeral 1 counters in decorative frames. To the right, a standing classical figure — likely Britannia or a similar allegorical figure — appears within a vertical panel. The bank title THE UNION BANK and the value One Dollar are inscribed in copperplate script across the centre, with the place of issue MONTREAL and the date 1838 completing the lower text field, above the manuscript signature lines for Cashier and President. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Protection description | Repeating lathe-work circular rosettes covering the entire reverse surface, serving as an anti-counterfeiting underprint |
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| Comments |
The Union Bank of Montreal was chartered in 1865 — which makes a note attributed to it in 1838 immediately suspect. No Union Bank operating under that name in Montreal had legal note-issuing authority that early. The more likely issuer is a predecessor institution or a misattributed charter, and the Pick reference P#1977 falls within a range used for Canadian chartered bank notes where attribution has historically been contested or revised.
Guilloche underprint on Canadian chartered bank paper this early is unusual — most security printing of this sophistication arrived in the 1850s with American bank note companies entering the Canadian market.