Catalog
4 Dollars = 20 Shillings
| Issuer | Agricultural Bank, Toronto |
|---|---|
| Year | 1835 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is engraved in a fine intaglio style typical of early Canadian private bank issues, with the bold numeral '4' at each of the four corners and the word 'FOUR' in the lower lateral panels. A central vignette presents an allegorical rural scene with a standing female figure flanked by cherubs and foliage, while smaller side vignettes depict a farmer at left and a camel with figures at right. The upper arc bears the inscription 'AGRICULTURAL BANK' with 'UPPER CANADA' flanking, and the body text reads 'We Promise to pay TWENTY Shillings Currency to bearer on demand for value received' with the place and date of issue, Toronto, 12 Nov. 1835. |
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| Variants | S1559 - dated 01.11.1835 S1559 - dated 01.12.1835 |
| Comments |
The Agricultural Bank of Toronto was a short-lived private institution that collapsed in 1837 during the broader wave of Upper Canadian bank failures tied to the financial panic sweeping North America that year. Notes issued in 1835 predate that collapse by only two years, meaning much of this paper never made it back to the issuing bank for redemption.
The dual denomination — four dollars expressed simultaneously as twenty shillings — reflects the currency confusion still endemic to Upper Canada in the 1830s, where British sterling units and the dollar of American commerce competed in daily trade. Issuers had to speak both languages to be trusted.
Pick lists this as P#1559, placing it among the largely unresearched corpus of pre-Confederation Canadian chartered and private bank issues.