Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Macdonald & Co., Bankers |
|---|---|
| Year | 1863 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar (1858-date) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | MACDONALD & CO. BANKERS Victoria VANCOUVERS ISLAND ESTABLISHED 1859 NUMBER We promise to pay the Bearer on demand at our Office here the sum of One Dollar Value received with charges |
| Reverse description | Plain unprinted reverse. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Macdonald & Co. operated as a private bank in Victoria during the Fraser River and Cariboo gold rush years, issuing notes that circulated primarily among miners, merchants, and trading houses in the colony. Private bank issues from Vancouver's Island are extraordinarily scarce — the colonial government was chronically ambivalent about paper money, and the dominant instrument of exchange remained gold dust weighed at the counter.
The firm collapsed in 1864, less than a year after this note was issued, in a broader contraction that swept out several Victoria merchant banks simultaneously. Redemption was incomplete, leaving an unknown quantity of notes outstanding.