1 Pound

The Union Bank of Newfoundland was chartered in 1854 and operated independently until its acquisition by the Bank of Montreal in 1901 — one of the earlier consolidations that gradually stripped Newfoundland of its locally chartered banking institutions. This note was issued during a period when Newfoundland still used pounds sterling rather than dollars, a distinction that set it apart from most of mainland British North America, which had already shifted to decimal currency by Confederation in 1867.

The American Bank Note Company printed from its New York facilities throughout this series. ABNC held substantial business with Maritime and Newfoundland chartered banks during this period, and the engraving quality is characteristically fine. Sterling-denominated private bank notes from Newfoundland are genuinely uncommon in any grade — the island's small population and limited issue volumes kept quantities low from the outset.