| Descripción del anverso |
The obverse is arranged in a horizontal format with the large bold numeral '2' in each upper corner and 'TWO' in a large ornate panel at lower left. A central vignette depicts cattle in a pastoral landscape, flanked by side vignettes of agricultural and commercial scenes. The bank title 'Commercial Bank of Canada' is inscribed in prominent script across the centre, with a promise-to-pay text reading 'Will pay TWO DOLLARS to bearer on demand at KINGSTON' and the date '1857', while the top border carries the legend 'INCORPORATED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT – PROVINCE OF CANADA' and the bottom border reads 'CAPITAL $4,000,000 … CAPITAL $1,000,000'. |
| Leyenda del anverso |
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| Descripción del reverso |
The reverse is printed on plain unprinted white cotton paper with no engraved design, vignettes, or inscriptions, consistent with the standard production practice for many mid-nineteenth-century Canadian chartered bank issues of this period. |
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| Firma(s) |
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| Tipo de protección |
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| Variantes |
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The Commercial Bank of Canada, headquartered in Kingston, Ontario, was one of the more substantial chartered banks operating under the Province of Canada's banking framework before Confederation. It collapsed in 1867 — the same year Canada became a dominion — making it one of the more prominent pre-Confederation bank failures, brought down largely by overextension tied to railway lending, particularly the Grand Trunk.
The American Bank Note Company printed this note in New York, as it did for dozens of colonial and chartered institutions across North America during this period. Notes from failed banks like this one survived primarily because redemption became impossible after closure, leaving quantities unredeemed in circulation or in private hands.