Catalog
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| Issuer | Bank of Brantford, Sault St. Marie |
|---|---|
| Year | 1859 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | CAPITAL $1,000,000 American Bank Note Company THE BANK OF BRANTFORD Will pay TWO DOLLARS to Bearer on demand SAULT ST. MARIE Nov. 1859 For the Bank of Brantford INCORPORATED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT — PROVINCE OF CANADA |
| Reverse description | The reverse is essentially unprinted, presented on plain white cotton paper with faint ghosting of the obverse design visible through the sheet. Two lightly impressed '2' counter medallions appear at left and right, with a barely legible impression of the bank name at centre, consistent with a note that was never fully backed or issued in regular circulation. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Brantford was a short-lived Ontario institution whose ambitions outpaced its charter — it never achieved full operational status, and notes issued under its name occupy an awkward legal grey area between legitimate bank paper and promotional scrip. The Sault Ste. Marie payable designation is the real curiosity here: routing a Brantford bank note through a remote northern Ontario outpost in 1859 suggests either a specific commercial relationship with resource operations in the region or, more likely, an attempt to establish a circulation footprint ahead of formal licensing.
ABNC's involvement guarantees engraving quality well above what the issuer's standing would imply.