Catalog
20 Dollars
| Issuer | Canadian Bank of Commerce, Toronto |
|---|---|
| Year | 1888-1912 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar (1858-date) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE CANADIAN BANK OF COMMERCE TORONTO PAID UP CAPITAL $15,000,000 WILL PAY TWENTY DOLLARS to bearer on demand 20 AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. NEW YORK |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in a uniform orange-brown tone and centres on an intricate guilloche rosette with the numeral '20' at its heart, surrounded by radiating lathe-work patterns that fill the right two-thirds of the note. To the left, a detailed engraved vignette presents the Canadian Bank of Commerce's Toronto head-office building in a Victorian Romanesque architectural style. The panel inscription 'THE CANADIAN BANK OF COMMERCE' appears in bold block lettering between the building vignette and the guilloche field, with a fine lace-pattern border framing the entire composition. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Canadian Bank of Commerce was one of the dominant chartered banks operating under the Bank Act system, which permitted private institutions to issue their own currency — a practice that persisted in Canada until 1944. This note falls within the long overlap period when several dozen chartered banks circulated their own paper simultaneously, each responsible for its own redemption. The American Bank Note Company handled a significant share of this work for Canadian issuers, and the Commerce series from this period reflects ABNC's engraving standards of the 1880s and 1890s.
The Canadian Bank of Commerce merged with the Imperial Bank of Canada in 1961 to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.