Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
20 Dollars
| Issuer | Ontario Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1888 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Dollars |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| 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 | The obverse carries the bold 'Ontario Bank' title across the top beneath the 'Dominion of Canada' overline, with the denomination '20' repeated at each corner and the legend 'WILL PAY TO BEARER ON DEMAND'. To the left, an oval intaglio vignette presents a classical female portrait in profile, while the central-right vignette renders a pastoral rural scene with a seated shepherd figure accompanied by livestock in a finely engraved landscape. The date 'Toronto, 12 June, 1888' and the inscription 'Incorporated in 1857' appear within the note's body, with guilloche underprint work framing the composition throughout. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DOMINION OF CANADA Ontario Bank WILL PAY TO BEARER ON DEMAND Incorporated in 1857 TWENTY DOLLARS TORONTO, 12 June, 1888 20 American Bank Note Co. N.Y. |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| 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 Ontario Bank was a mid-sized Canadian chartered bank operating out of Oshawa, and its note-issuing history is modest enough that survivors from any denomination attract serious collector attention. The 1888 series was produced by the American Bank Note Company in New York — routine practice for Canadian chartered banks of the period, most of which lacked domestic security printing infrastructure capable of meeting their needs.
The bank collapsed in 1906 following a fraud scandal involving its general manager, after which outstanding notes were redeemed through the Canadian government's circulation fund. Unredeemed examples were not numerous to begin with at the $20 level, where commercial rather than retail use dominated.