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1 Dollar = 5 Shillings
| Issuer | International Bank of Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1858 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio print on white paper with a large green guilloche underprint bearing the numeral ONE at centre. The upper portion carries a suspension bridge vignette flanked by two hexagonal counters each bearing the numeral 1, while an oval portrait of Queen Victoria in diadem and robes occupies the lower left and a corresponding oval portrait of a gentleman in early 19th-century attire the lower right. The legend INTERNATIONAL BANK OF CANADA / ONE DOLLAR / TORONTO appears in bold letterpress, with CAPITAL $1,000,000 at the top border and FIVE SHILLINGS / CHARTERED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT along the lower border. |
|---|---|
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| Signature(s) | J. H. Markell J. C. Fitch |
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| Comments |
The International Bank of Canada was chartered in 1858 and operated out of Toronto, but its ambitions proved short-lived — the bank collapsed and never formally opened for business, which means this note never entered general circulation. It was a specimen or remainder from the outset, printed in anticipation of a banking operation that simply did not materialize.
The dual denomination — one dollar and five shillings on the same face — reflects the monetary awkwardness of pre-Confederation Canada, where British sterling and decimal dollar values coexisted uneasily in commerce. ABNC's New York plant produced the sheets regardless.