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20 Dollars
| Issuer | Union Bank of Canada, Quebec |
|---|---|
| Year | 1886 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | UNION BANK OF CANADA QUEBEC 2ND AUG. 1886 WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND Twenty Dollars 20 XX CASHIER PRESIDENT |
| Reverse description | Printed in brown intaglio on white paper, the reverse is composed entirely of elaborate engine-turned guilloche lathe-work in an elliptical format. A central circular medallion bearing the inscription 'UNION BANK OF CANADA' surrounds a floral rosette, with two flanking oval counters each carrying the numeral '20' in ornate script, all enclosed within dense interlocking scrollwork extending to the edges. |
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| Comments |
The Union Bank of Canada had its roots in Quebec City, where it was chartered in 1865 as the Union Bank of Lower Canada before rebranding a decade later. By 1886 the bank was expanding aggressively into Ontario and the west, and the American Bank Note Company's New York engraving plant was the prestige choice for Canadian chartered banks wanting notes that would inspire confidence at the teller window — difficult to counterfeit, immediately recognizable as serious paper.
The $20 denomination was a substantial sum in 1886 Canada, rarely handled by ordinary depositors. Notes at this level moved between merchants, brokers, and bank branches rather than through daily retail trade, which partly accounts for the relative scarcity of high-grade survivors in this series.