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100 Dollars
| Issuer | Royal Bank of Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S1377 |
| Obverse description | The obverse presents an elaborate engraved design with a central large numeral '100' set within an ornate guilloche underprint in yellow and black. To the right, an oval intaglio vignette portrays a classical allegorical female figure seated and holding a lyre, rendered in fine line engraving. The upper portion carries the bank title in bold Gothic script, with the legend 'DOMINION OF CANADA' across the top, 'INCORPORATED 1869.' to the upper right, and the date 'MONTREAL, JAN. 2ND 1909.' at the lower centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DOMINION OF CANADA THE ROYAL BANK OF CANADA INCORPORATED 1869. WILL PAY TO BEARER ON DEMAND ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS MONTREAL, JAN. 2ND 1909. 100 PRESIDENT COUNTER SIGNED American Bank Note Co. Ottawa |
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| Comments |
The Royal Bank of Canada's pre-Confederation chartered bank issues occupy a peculiar corner of Canadian numismatics — legally circulating private currency at a time when the Dominion government had not yet fully asserted monopoly control over note issue. The 1909 series was printed by American Bank Note Company in New York, a firm that handled the majority of Canadian chartered bank work during this period simply because domestic printing capacity for high-security intaglio work barely existed.
At the $100 denomination, actual circulation would have been negligible. These moved between banks and large commercial accounts, not through everyday trade. Survivor rates are accordingly low — not because they wore out, but because they rarely left institutional hands long enough to get lost.