Catalog
2 Dollars
| Issuer | Colonial Bank of Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1859 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Dollars |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | COLONIAL BANK OF CANADA TWO DOLLARS CAPITAL $2,000,000 Will pay TWO DOLLARS to Bearer on demand TORONTO INCORPORATED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT Cashier |
| Reverse description | The reverse is largely plain, printed on aged cream-toned cotton paper with no central vignette or decorative motif. A handwritten endorsement and a circular ink stamp are visible toward the right side, consistent with period banking practice for notes in circulation. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Colonial Bank of Canada had a short and troubled existence. Chartered in 1856 under the Province of Canada, it never achieved the foothold its promoters intended, and by the early 1860s it had collapsed — making any surviving paper from the 1859 series genuinely rare by circumstance rather than design. Notes did not accumulate in hoards because the bank failed before its currency achieved wide distribution.
The American Bank Note Company was already the dominant security printer for Canadian chartered banks by this date, producing work of consistently high technical quality from its New York shops. ABNCo's involvement here is unsurprising, but worth noting given how briefly the Colonial Bank operated — very few institutions got less return on their printing investment.