1 Dollar = 5 Shillings

The Commercial Bank of New Brunswick was chartered in 1834 and operated from Saint John, making it one of the province's longer-lived colonial banking institutions. The dual denomination — one dollar and five shillings simultaneously — reflects the awkward monetary reality of mid-nineteenth century British North America, where American dollars and British sterling circulated side by side and banks were expected to satisfy both. New Brunswick didn't adopt a decimal dollar as its sole official currency until 1860, the very year this note was issued, so this piece sits precisely at that transition point.

New Brunswick joined Confederation in 1867, after which provincial bank notes were gradually displaced by Dominion currency.