Catalog
3 Dollars
| Issuer | Bank of Upper Canada, Kingston |
|---|---|
| Year | 1820 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 3 Dollars |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Horizontal format note with four corner oval guilloche medallions each bearing the numeral "3", framing a central intaglio vignette of an allegorical female figure standing alongside a sailing vessel. The upper arc carries the inscription "PAYABLE AT THE BANK OF CANADA IN MONTREAL", with the body text stating the promise to pay Three Dollars on demand from the Joint Funds of the Association under the legend "BANK OF UPPER CANADA". A vertical letterpress legend "THREE DOLLARS" runs along the left margin, and manuscript cashier and president signatures with a handwritten date and series letter appear at the lower edge. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted, consistent with early nineteenth-century Canadian colonial banknote practice, with the cotton paper stock showing faint ghost impressions of the obverse intaglio and guilloche elements bleeding through, including the two oval corner medallions visible at left and right. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| 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 Bank of Upper Canada was chartered in 1821 — which makes a note dated 1820 from this issuer genuinely anomalous. The Kingston institution (distinct from the later York-based Bank of Upper Canada chartered under the same name) operated on anticipation of its charter, issuing notes before formal legislative approval was secured. This was not unusual in early Canadian banking, where the line between authorized and provisional issue was routinely blurred.
Pre-charter colonial notes from Upper Canada are among the rarest survivors in North American paper money. Most were redeemed quickly or simply wore out in rough frontier circulation.