Catalog
3 Dollars
| Issuer | Colonial Bank of Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1859 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio-printed note with a central allegorical vignette of two female figures flanking a seated Britannia holding a shield with the Union Jack, above the bank title COLONIAL BANK OF CANADA and the city of issue TORONTO in bold letterpress. The denomination numeral '3' appears in ornate lathework panels at the upper left and upper right corners, with a further vignette of St. George and the Dragon at the lower left and a portrait of a young woman in oval frame at the lower right. The top border carries a repeated THREE DOLLARS inscription in a decorative band, and the note bears manuscript signatures of the Cashier and President with a manuscript date. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain reverse printed on aged cotton paper with no central vignette or lettering; light guilloche underprint elements are faintly visible across the surface, consistent with period Canadian chartered bank note production. |
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| Comments |
The Colonial Bank of Canada was chartered in 1858 and operated out of Quebec, but its ambitions were short-lived — the bank collapsed before establishing any meaningful branch network, making its notes rare survivors of a failed venture rather than worn instruments of commerce. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson, the New York security printers responsible for this note, were among the most prolific bank note engravers on the continent at the time, producing paper for dozens of institutions across Canada and the United States.
The three-dollar denomination itself reflects mid-nineteenth century Canadian colonial banking convention, where odd denominations were common to facilitate specific exchange calculations against both sterling and decimal currency systems then competing for dominance.