Catalog
1 Piastre/Dollar
| Issuer | Mechanics Bank, St. John's |
|---|---|
| Year | 1837 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Bilingual (French/English) note with a central vignette of a steam locomotive on a rail line, flanked by large numeral "1" panels. Allegorical seated figures appear at left and right margins. The issuer legend "Mechanics Bank St. John's" and "LOWER CANADA" are inscribed across the centre, with manuscript date and signatures below. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain unprinted reverse. |
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| Comments |
The Mechanics Bank of St. John's, Newfoundland, was a short-lived institution chartered during the speculative fever of the mid-1830s. This 1837 note predates Confederation by three decades and circulates under the dual denomination — piastre and dollar — reflecting the mixed currency environment of British North America at the time, where Spanish dollar traditions still held practical weight alongside sterling.
Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Co. were among the most prolific bank note engravers operating out of New York in this period, later absorbed into the American Bank Note Company in 1858.