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20 Dollars
| Issuer | Metropolitan Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar (1858-date) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a central intaglio vignette of a horse-drawn streetcar in an urban setting, flanked by ornate guilloche panels bearing the numeral 20 in each corner. The bank title THE METROPOLITAN BANK arches across the top in bold serif lettering, with the promise text WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND beneath. The date Toronto, November 5th 1909 appears in the lower centre, with signature lines for President and Countersigner below the central vignette, and the imprint of the American Bank Note Co. Ottawa at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE METROPOLITAN BANK WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND TWENTY DOLLARS TORONTO, NOVEMBER 5TH 1909 TWENTY 20 PRESIDENT COUNTERSIGNER AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. OTTAWA |
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| Comments |
The Metropolitan Bank of Canada was a mid-sized Ontario institution that merged into the Bank of Nova Scotia in 1914 — meaning its note-issuing life was short and its circulation area geographically concentrated. By 1909, Canadian chartered bank notes were already being squeezed out of smaller denominations by Dominion government currency, so higher-denomination commercial paper like this $20 saw most of its use in wholesale trade and interbank settlement rather than everyday commerce.
The American Bank Note Company's Ottawa plant handled the bulk of Canadian chartered bank work in this period. ABNC Ottawa jobs from 1909 are identifiable by specific serial number prefix conventions that differ from the firm's New York output.