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20 Dollars / Piastres
| Issuer | La Banque Nationale |
|---|---|
| Year | 1871 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Dollars / Piastres |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is executed in fine intaglio engraving with a dark green and black colour scheme. At centre, an allegorical vignette in the upper register depicts an industrial and agricultural scene, flanked on the left by a pastoral group of figures with livestock and on the right by a standing male figure, all framed by elaborate guilloche scrollwork. The large numeral '20' appears twice in the upper corners, with the issuer's name 'LA BANQUE NATIONALE' inscribed in bold letterpress across the centre, below which the bilingual denomination 'VINGT DOLLARS / VINGT PIASTRES' is printed along with the place of issue, Quebec. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | TWENTY • 20 • TWENTY • 20 • TWENTY • 20 • TWENTY • 20 LA BANQUE NATIONALE VINGT DOLLARS / VINGT PIASTRES XX Pour La Banque Nationale Québec |
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| Comments |
La Banque Nationale was a Quebec-based chartered bank, not a central bank — the name causes persistent confusion. Founded in Quebec City in 1860, it operated under Canada's banking legislation and issued its own notes as circulating currency, a normal arrangement under the pre-Confederation and early post-Confederation framework that permitted private chartered banks to issue their own paper.
The British American Bank Note Company had only recently been formed in 1866 through a merger of two earlier Ottawa-based engraving firms, and Montreal work in 1871 represents some of their earliest output as a consolidated operation. La Banque Nationale was absorbed into the Banque Canadienne Nationale in 1924.