Catalog
4 Dollars = 20 Shillings
| Issuer | Accommodation Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1837 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar (1792-date) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ACCOMMODATION Upper Canada BANK 4 FIVE HUNDRED SHAREHOLDERS GO GOOD TO SUPPORT THIS BANK FOR SALE THE AMOUNT OF REAL ESTATE PLEDGED FOR EIGHTFOLD MORE THAN THIS BANK Will pay the bearer Twenty Shillings twelve months after date in Specie Current Bank Notes for value received Kingston |
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| Variants | S1547r - remainder without date and serial number S1547a - issued note |
| Comments |
The Accommodation Bank was chartered in 1835 and failed spectacularly in 1838, making its entire note issue extraordinarily short-lived. Ontario's pre-Confederation banking environment was notoriously permissive, and the Accommodation Bank was among the more thinly capitalized institutions to receive a charter — its collapse left local merchants holding worthless paper during an already turbulent period shaped by the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837.
The dual denomination — four dollars expressed alongside twenty shillings — reflects the awkward monetary reality of Upper Canada at the time, where sterling and decimal values coexisted in daily commerce.