Catalog
1 Dollar
| Issuer | Westmorland Bank of New Brunswick, Bend of Petticodiac |
|---|---|
| Year | 1854 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S2042 |
| Obverse description | Engraved in the intaglio tradition characteristic of mid-nineteenth-century North American private bank issues, the obverse carries a standing mariner vignette at left and a central shipyard scene with a vessel on a construction slipway. A small oval portrait vignette of a woman appears at right within a fine-line border. The bank title THE WESTMORLAND BANK OF NEW BRUNSWICK and the promise-to-pay text are inscribed across the centre, with the denomination ONE rendered in block letters at the lower corners and the place of payment given as BEND OF PETTICODIAC. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely unprinted, presenting a plain aged cotton paper surface devoid of vignettes, text, or decorative elements, a characteristic common to many private colonial Canadian bank issues of the 1850s. |
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| Comments |
The Westmorland Bank operated out of Moncton — then still commonly called the Bend of Petitcodiac — and was one of several short-lived colonial New Brunswick private banks that issued notes before Confederation rationalized the currency system. It received its charter in 1825 but struggled chronically with capitalization and public confidence throughout its existence.
By 1854, chartered bank notes in the Maritime colonies circulated alongside Halifax currency valuations and a bewildering mix of British, American, and Spanish coin. The bank collapsed before Confederation, making survivors of this series genuinely uncommon.