Catalog
2 Dollars = 10 Shillings
| Issuer | Bank of Montreal |
|---|---|
| Year | 183_ |
| Type | Pattern or trial banknote |
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| Obverse description | Unissued trial note printed in black on white paper. At centre, an allegorical vignette of a seated female figure with a small numeral '2' cartouche to her left; at right, a standing classical female figure in robes holding a staff. A vertical panel at left reads 'DEUX PIASTRES' in letterpress, and a decorative oval bearing 'TWO' appears at lower right. The text body reads 'The Bank of Montreal Promises to pay the Bearer TEN Shillings Currency on demand, Montreal June 1st 183_', with 'PAYABLE AT QUEBEC' across the top and a heraldic vignette at lower centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DEUX PIASTRES PAYABLE AT QUEBEC TWO DOLLARS DEUX PIASTRES A The Bank of Montreal Promises to pay the Bearer TEN Shillings Currency on demand Montreal June 1st 183_ TWO |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Montreal, chartered in 1817, was the dominant commercial bank in British North America and one of the few institutions whose notes circulated with genuine public confidence across the colony. This dual-denomination format — expressing value in both dollars and shillings — reflects the monetary confusion of the period, when Spanish milled dollars, Halifax currency, and various colonial reckonings coexisted in daily commerce. The imperial shilling equivalency wasn't decorative; merchants and customers actually used both systems depending on the transaction.
The incomplete year "183_" indicates the decade of authorization with the precise date of issue filled in by hand, a common practice when plates were prepared in advance of actual signing and release. Notes from this series are genuinely scarce in any grade, partly because the Bank of Montreal actively retired old notes as new series were introduced.