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2 Dollars
| Issuer | Merchants Bank of Canada, Montreal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1868 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is engraved in a green and black colour scheme, with a central vignette of a full-rigged sailing vessel and a steam vessel at sea, framed by fine guilloche work. A portrait vignette of a gentleman appears at the lower left and a second male portrait appears at the lower right, flanking the central maritime scene. The denomination TWO DOLLARS is inscribed in bold letterpress across the centre, with the issuing bank name THE MERCHANTS BANK OF CANADA and branch overprint TORONTO above, and the handwritten date March 2nd, 1868 with manuscript signatures of the Cashier and President below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE MERCHANTS BANK OF CANADA TORONTO TWO DOLLARS MONTREAL Will pay to bearer on demand CAPITAL $4,000,000 INCORPORATED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT - PROVINCE OF CANADA TWO 2 |
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| Comments |
The Merchants Bank of Canada was chartered in 1864 and quickly became one of Montreal's more aggressive commercial lenders, expanding into Ontario branch banking during the late 1860s. This 1868 issue came early in that growth phase, before the bank's eventual absorption into the Bank of Montreal in 1922 following a near-collapse tied to post-WWI credit losses.
American Bank Note Company's New York shop handled most of the chartered Canadian banks during this period — the high-security intaglio work was simply beyond what domestic Canadian printing could reliably produce. ABNC's engraving quality on early Dominion-era Canadian chartered bank notes is generally sharp, though the cotton substrate on issues this old is prone to toning along fold lines.