Catalog
10 Dollars
| Issuer | Merchants Bank of Canada, Montreal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black and green with large roman numeral 'X' vignettes flanking a central oval portrait of Sir Hugh Allan, founder of the bank, set within an intricate engraved frame. The bank title 'The Merchants Bank of Canada' curves across the upper portion in bold script lettering, with the date '1st Nov. 1919' and place 'Montreal' inscribed below the portrait. Two manuscript signatures of bank officers appear along the lower margin, with the denomination 'Ten Dollars' in letterpress across the bottom. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in dark blue and features a central circular vignette of the bank's coat of arms with a beehive motif, surrounded by elaborate guilloche scrollwork and lathe-work patterns. Large numeral '10' denominators appear in each corner, with additional '10' figures interspersed along the top and bottom borders within ornate engraved frames. The bank name 'THE MERCHANTS BANK OF CANADA' is inscribed in a straight legend along the lower portion, flanked by 'X' symbols. |
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| Comments |
The Merchants Bank of Canada had less than three years left when this note was issued. The bank collapsed in 1922 in one of the most embarrassing failures in Canadian banking history — a combination of reckless lending, fraudulent management under Sir Herbert Holt's predecessor regime, and a postwar credit contraction that left the balance sheet unsalvageable. The Canadian Bank of Commerce absorbed what remained.
The American Bank Note Company operated a Ottawa branch plant from 1897, handling much of Canada's chartered bank printing domestically rather than routing work through New York. Notes from this period of ABNC Ottawa production are distinguishable by subtle differences in plate finish from their American-press counterparts.
Surviving examples of this issue are scarce — the receivership in 1922 cut short redemption cycles, and unreturned notes were effectively demonetized by absorption.