Catalog
4 Dollars
| Issuer | Colonial Bank of Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1859 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S1678 |
| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in rose-red on a pale ground, with a central oval vignette of Queen Victoria in regal portrait, wearing a crown and jewelled necklace. To the left stands an allegorical female figure of Britannia holding scales and a shield, while large numeral "4" counters appear at the upper right and lower right corners within ornate guilloche frames. The upper border carries the bank title "COLONIAL BANK OF CANADA" in bold letterpress, and the lower border reads "INCORPORATED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT," with the capital declaration "CAPITAL $2,000,000" inscribed beneath the central vignette. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | FOUR DOLLARS • FOUR DOLLARS • FOUR DOLLARS • FOUR DOLLARS THE COLONIAL BANK OF CANADA FOUR Dollars FOUR CAPITAL $2,000,000 |
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| Comments |
The Colonial Bank of Canada was a short-lived institution, chartered in 1859 and absorbed into the Canadian banking consolidation that followed Confederation. This $4 denomination reflects a pre-Confederation quirk: Canadian banks in the late 1850s still issued notes in non-decimal values, a hangover from the era when currency circulated in pounds, shillings, and dollars simultaneously. The $4 note slotted neatly against the £1 sterling equivalent at the then-common rate of four dollars to the pound.
American Bank Note Company, by 1859 freshly formed from the merger of several competing New York security printers, held a near-monopoly on Canadian chartered bank work at this period.