Catalog
25 Dollars
| Issuer | Bank of Hamilton |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 25 Dollars |
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| Obverse description | Dark purple-brown intaglio print on a fine guilloche underprint. A classical allegorical vignette at left centre shows two female figures, one seated and one standing, with a lion at their feet, representing commerce and prosperity. The bank title BANK OF HAMILTON arches across the upper field in bold letterpress, with DOMINION OF CANADA at the top margin; a central lozenge cartouche carries the denomination numeral 25, above the legend TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS ON DEMAND and the issue date 1st March 1922, annotated as JUBILEE ISSUE. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in purple-brown on a fine lathe-work guilloche ground, the reverse is dominated by a large ornate central medallion bearing the numeral 25 in elaborate script, flanked by two smaller circular counters each carrying the numeral 25. Corner pieces repeat the denomination 25 in all four quadrants, and BANK OF HAMILTON is lettered across the upper margin, with TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS along the lower border. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Hamilton was absorbed by the Canadian Bank of Commerce in 1924, making any note issued in its final years effectively a short-run curiosity. This 1922 issue would have circulated for at most two years before the acquiring bank began withdrawing Hamilton paper from use.
The American Bank Note Company's New York facilities handled most Canadian chartered bank printing through this period. The $25 denomination was always an awkward commercial value — too large for everyday retail, too small for major wholesale transactions — and was dropped by most Canadian banks well before Confederation-era reforms forced the issue.