Catalog
2 Piastres = 10 Shillings
| Issuer | Molsons Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1853 |
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| Value | 2 Piastres |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio-printed note with the bank title MOLSONS BANK across the upper centre in bold serif lettering. The central vignette shows a seated allegorical female figure in a pastoral agricultural scene, flanked on the left by a guilloche medallion bearing the numeral 2 and a small oval portrait of a young male dignitary, and on the right by an ornate rosette medallion with a numeral 2 and an oval portrait of a young female figure, likely representing royalty. Bilingual promise text in French and English runs across the lower centre, with the place and date of issue reading MONTREAL October 1, 1853, and manuscript signatures of the Cashier and President appear below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | MOLSONS BANK SECURED BY DEPOSIT OF PROVINCIAL SECURITIES La Banque payera au porteur sur demande DEUX PIASTRES This Bank will pay to the bearer on demand TEN SHILLINGS Halifax Currency at Montreal and not elsewhere MONTREAL October 1, 1853 Cash. |
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| Comments |
Molsons Bank, chartered in Montreal in 1855, could not legally have issued a note dated 1853 under that name — which points to the note's actual origins with the Bank of Montreal-affiliated Molson family interests operating before full incorporation. The dual denomination, piastres and shillings, reflects the genuinely awkward monetary reality of mid-century Canada, where Halifax currency, York currency, and decimal piastres competed in daily commerce until the 1858 decimal transition forced the issue.
The American Bank Note Company imprint is notable this early — ABNC was only reconstituted under that name in 1858, so any 1853-dated note bearing that imprint warrants close examination of the plate origin versus the actual print date.