1 Pound Sterling - Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company fur-trade notes occupy a peculiar legal position: the HBC was never a chartered bank, yet it issued promissory notes redeemable in sterling at its London house or in made beaver — the standardized pelt unit of account still embedded in the company's trading arithmetic at the time. This note circulated almost exclusively within HBC trading posts across Rupert's Land, where coin was chronically scarce and the company effectively controlled the only available medium of exchange.

The fifty-year issuance window reflects continuous plate use rather than discrete series changes. Surviving examples are rare; most were redeemed and destroyed at the posts, and the isolation of those settlements meant attrition was severe.