Catalog
1 Dollar
| Issuer | Colonial Bank of Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1859 |
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| Composition | Cotton paper |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black on cream paper with a heavily worn surface. At the left, a circular guilloche frame encloses a portrait vignette of Queen Victoria accompanied by the denomination legend ONE DOLLAR. To the right of centre, an allegorical vignette portrays a seated female figure with a barrel and agricultural implements. The bank title COLONIAL BANK OF CANADA is set in bold letterpress across the centre, with the promise text 'Will pay ONE DOLLAR to bearer on Demand' in script lettering, and the notation CAPITAL $2,000,000 at upper left. The numeral 1 appears in the upper-right counter, and the city of issue TORONTO is inscribed at the top. |
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| Obverse lettering | COLONIAL BANK OF CANADA ONE DOLLAR ON DEMAND WILL PAY ONE DOLLAR TO BEARER CAPITAL $2,000,000 TORONTO INCORPORATED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT Cashier President |
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| Comments |
The Colonial Bank of Canada was a short-lived institution — chartered in 1858 and absorbed by the Bank of Montreal in 1863 — which means this note was in active production for only a handful of years before the bank ceased to exist. The American Bank Note Company, which had consolidated several competing security printers in 1858, was at the peak of its early technical ambition when this plate was engraved, and Canadian chartered bank work made up a substantial portion of its order book in this period.
Very few Colonial Bank notes survive in any denomination. The bank's brief operating life and the subsequent consolidation limited circulation broadly, and redemption under the acquiring bank was thorough.