25 Cents

Canada's Dominion notes in fractional denominations were a direct response to the chronic disappearance of silver coinage from circulation — small coins were habitually hoarded or exported south whenever silver's commodity value approached face value. The 25-cent Dominion note, sometimes called a "shinplaster" by a public with long memories of the discredited American Civil War-era scrip that earned the name first, had already gone through two earlier series before this 1900 issue.

The American Bank Note Company held the contract despite the Ottawa printing location — ABNC operated a Canadian plant, so the work stayed local while the company's technical resources did not. Three signature varieties distinguish the pickable variants here: Courtney, Boville, and Saunders, reflecting successive Deputy Ministers of Finance across the note's production run.