Catalog
4 Dollars
| Issuer | Colonial Bank of Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1859 |
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| Value | 4 Dollars |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is engraved in a classical early Victorian style on cream-toned paper, with a central oval vignette of Queen Victoria in portrait, framed by fine guilloche scrollwork. To the left, a standing allegorical figure of Britannia holds a trident and shield, rendered in intaglio. The denomination FOUR is repeated in large serifed numerals at the left and right margins, with the legend FOUR DOLLARS repeated along the upper and lower borders; the issuer's name COLONIAL BANK OF CANADA appears across the top, with printed text referencing capital of $2,000,000, payable to the bearer on demand at Toronto, and spaces for manuscript date, serial number, and the signatures of the Cashier and President. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | FOUR DOLLARS COLONIAL BANK OF CANADA Four Dollars Will pay to the Bearer on Demand Toronto CAPITAL $2,000,000 INCORPORATED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT Cashier President |
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| Comments |
The Colonial Bank of Canada was a short-lived institution operating out of Quebec, and this 4-dollar note reflects the genuinely peculiar denomination structure that some Canadian colonial banks adopted to bridge the awkward conversion between the old Halifax currency system and decimal dollars. The American Bank Note Company in New York was by 1859 the dominant supplier to Canadian chartered banks, having absorbed several rival firms and consolidated much of the engraving talent in the northeast.
The $4 denomination is the detail worth noting — rare enough in North American banking that its existence here almost certainly reflects a calculated decision to satisfy specific commercial transactions in a market still operating partly in pounds and shillings.