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1 Pound Royal Bank of Canada
| Issuer | Royal Bank of Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1938 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | A seated allegorical female figure occupies the right portion of the note, holding a lyre and resting beside a model sailing ship, rendered in fine intaglio engraving against a yellow-green guilloche underprint. The centre bears the bold script title 'Royal Bank of Canada' above a large denominational vignette reading 'ONE POUND' within an ornate lozenge-shaped frame flanked by numeral '1' counters. Serial numbers in red appear at upper right and lower left, with the date 'January 19, 1938' printed at lower centre and signatures of the General Manager and President below. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in green and centred on an elaborate intaglio vignette of the Royal Bank of Canada heraldic coat of arms, supported by a lion and a unicorn rampant on either side, with a crown above and the motto 'DIEU ET MON DROIT' on a ribbon below. Denomination panels reading '1 POUND' appear to the left and right of the central arms, flanked by intricate guilloche latticework and repeated numeral '1' counters along the borders. The legends 'THE ROYAL BANK' and 'OF CANADA' appear above and below the central vignette respectively. |
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| Comments |
The Royal Bank of Canada operated branches across the Caribbean for much of the twentieth century, and this pound-denominated note was issued specifically for circulation in Jamaica, where sterling-based accounting remained standard well into the colonial period. It is not a Canadian domestic note despite the issuer's name — the denomination alone makes that clear.
Canadian chartered banks retained the legal right to issue their own currency in certain overseas territories long after domestic private bank note issue had been effectively absorbed by the Bank of Canada, which had only been established in 1935. This note sits in that narrow window between the Bank of Canada's founding and the full consolidation of issue rights.