Catalog
20 Dollars
| Issuer | Banque Canadienne Nationale |
|---|---|
| Year | 1925 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Entirely printed in dark blue, the reverse centres on a large oval vignette containing the Canadian coat of arms with provincial shields, surrounded by elaborate guilloche lacework and foliate scrollwork borders. The numeral '20' appears in solid counters at left and right within the guilloche framework, and the bank name is lettered at the foot of the design. |
| Reverse lettering | BANQUE CANADIENNE NATIONALE TWENTY VINGT 20 CANADIAN BANK NOTE COMPANY LIMITED |
| 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 Banque Canadienne Nationale was itself only three years old in 1925, formed from the 1922 merger of the Banque Nationale and the Banque d'Hochelaga. This note belongs to the bank's first major chartered issue following that consolidation — a period when the BCN was aggressively expanding its branch network through Quebec and competing hard for commercial accounts against the anglophone-dominated Big Five.
The Canadian Bank Note Company in Ottawa handled production, as it did for most chartered bank issues of the period. Under the 1914 Finance Act framework, chartered banks retained the right to issue their own currency up to specified limits tied to paid-up capital — a system that would finally end with the Bank of Canada Act of 1934.