Catalog
20 Dollars
| Issuer | Bank of Hamilton |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated on the right by a large intaglio vignette of Britannia seated in a classical pose, holding a trident and accompanied by two attendant figures and a lion, set against a landscape background. To the left, an elaborate guilloche rosette surrounds the bold numeral "20" in the centre, with the denomination "TWENTY DOLLARS" and clause "ON DEMAND" inscribed below. The upper portion carries the legends "DOMINION OF CANADA" and "BANK OF HAMILTON" in letterpress, with the date "19 JUNE 1914" and place of issue "HAMILTON" flanking the serial number, while two manuscript signatures of the President and General Manager appear along the lower margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DOMINION OF CANADA BANK OF HAMILTON WE PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER TWENTY DOLLARS ON DEMAND HAMILTON 19 JUNE 1914 PRESIDENT GENERAL MANAGER AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. OTTAWA |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Hamilton was absorbed by the Canadian Bank of Commerce in 1924, making this 1914 note one of the later issues from an institution that had operated since 1872. By the time this note entered circulation, Canadian chartered bank currency was already living on borrowed time — the Finance Act of 1914 had reshuffled the relationship between the government and private bank issuance, and the eventual 1944 monopoly by the Bank of Canada was already philosophically inevitable.
The American Bank Note Company maintained a production facility in Ottawa, so this was genuinely printed domestically despite the firm's New York origins. The $20 denomination was the workhorse of commercial transactions at the chartered bank level.