Catalog
20 Shillings/Chelins = 4 Dollars
| Issuer | Banque du Peuple |
|---|---|
| Year | 1854 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Bilingual note with the bank title LA BANQUE DU PEUPLE in large bold lettering across the centre. A central vignette at upper centre shows a pastoral agricultural scene with cattle and figures; a left oval vignette portrays a seated male figure with agricultural implements, and a right oval vignette shows a figure at a forge or workshop. The denomination numeral 4 appears in each corner, with bilingual text in English and French confirming the promise to pay TWENTY SHILLINGS / VINGT CHELINS, dated 9 Janvier 1854 at Montreal. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | CHARTERED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT INCORPOREE PAR ACTE DE PARLEMENT LA BANQUE DU PEUPLE This Bank will pay / Cette Banque payera TWENTY SHILLINGS VINGT CHELINS its currency to the bearer / en monnaie courante au porteur valeur reçue value received MONTREAL 9 Janvier 1854 4 |
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| Comments |
The Banque du Peuple was a Montreal cooperative institution with strong ties to the Patriote movement, founded in 1835 partly as a political counterweight to the anglophone-dominated Bank of Montreal. By 1854 that ideological edge had softened considerably, but the bank retained its French-Canadian character and its bilingual approach to note denominations — hence the dual-language, dual-currency statement that is more than cosmetic. The £1 sterling equivalent and the four-dollar conversion reflect the genuinely confused monetary environment of the Province of Canada before Confederation standardized on decimal currency in 1858.
The Banque du Peuple eventually failed in 1895 after a fraud scandal involving its directors.