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20 Dollars
| Issuer | Merchants Bank of Halifax |
|---|---|
| Year | 1883 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries a central vignette of two allegorical female figures seated beside a harbour scene with sailing vessels in the background, rendered in fine intaglio engraving. The bank title MERCHANTS BANK OF HALIFAX arcs across the upper portion, with DOMINION OF CANADA at the top margin, and the denomination TWENTY DOLLARS in bold letterpress at the right. Serial number appears at upper left and upper right, with the issuing city and date inscribed at lower centre above the signature line. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DOMINION OF CANADA MERCHANTS BANK OF HALIFAX WILL PAY ON DEMAND TO BEARER TWENTY Dollars Halifax, Nova Scotia January 1st 1898 |
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| Comments |
The Merchants Bank of Halifax was one of the more aggressive Maritime expansionists of the post-Confederation period, pushing hard into central Canadian markets through the 1870s. It was also one of the early casualties of that ambition — the bank collapsed in 1887, just four years after this note was printed, following a prolonged crisis of confidence in its loan portfolio. Notes dated 1883 were among the last issued before the institution became insolvent.
The British American Bank Note Company in Ottawa handled the bulk of Canadian chartered bank printing during this period. Any surviving $20 from this short-lived issuer is a rarity by circumstance, not rarity by design.