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10 Dollars
| Issuer | Bank of Hamilton |
|---|---|
| Year | 1892 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar (1858-date) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by an oval portrait vignette of a bearded gentleman at the left, with a central landscape vignette of Niagara Falls rendered in fine intaglio engraving. A classical female allegorical figure holding a cornucopia occupies the right side, while large ornate numeral "10" counters appear in the upper corners against a salmon-orange guilloche underprint. The issuer's name "THE BANK OF HAMILTON" is set in bold gothic lettering across the top, with the date "HAMILTON, 1st JUNE, 1892" inscribed below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE BANK OF HAMILTON HAMILTON, 1st JUNE, 1892 DOMINION OF CANADA WILL PAY TO BEARER TEN DOLLARS PRO CASHIER PRESIDENT WESTERN BANK NOTE CO. SPECIMEN |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Hamilton was one of Ontario's more durable chartered banks, operating from 1872 until its absorption by the Canadian Bank of Commerce in 1924. By 1892, Canadian chartered banks still issued their own paper currency under the Bank Act — a system that allowed private institutions to circulate notes up to twice their paid-up capital, provided they maintained specie reserves. The Western Bank Note Company, a Chicago firm better known for American Midwest clients, appears here as an unusual choice given that most Canadian chartered banks of the period favored the American Bank Note Company or British American Bank Note Company for their engraving work.
The Chicago connection is worth noting: Western Bank Note had recently expanded its commercial banking clients, and Hamilton's proximity to the US border may have made the relationship practical.