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5 Dollars = 1 Pound 10 Pence
| Issuer | Royal Bank of Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The upper portion bears the bank title THE ROYAL BANK OF CANADA in bold lettering across the top, flanked on each side by panels stating FIVE TRINIDAD DOLLARS THE EQUIVALENT OF £1-0-10. The central vignette presents a large ocean liner at sea rendered in fine intaglio engraving, set within an ornate frame with guilloche borders. Inscriptions below note the place of issue AT PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD, with the date January 2nd 1920 at lower left, serial numbers in red at both sides, and text reading IN TRINIDAD CURRENCY BEING THE EQUIVALENT OF ONE POUND AND TEN PENCE, with REDEEMABLE ONLY IN TRINIDAD at centre, and two manuscript signatures for General Manager and President. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in green on a light ground, with an elaborate guilloche border frame enclosing the central motif of the British Royal Arms — a crowned shield supported by a lion and a unicorn with the motto DIEU ET MON DROIT on a ribbon below. To each side of the arms, the denomination is repeated in two columns reading FIVE TRINIDAD DOLLARS THE EQUIVALENT OF £1-0-10. The bank name THE ROYAL BANK OF CANADA appears in a curved cartouche at the bottom centre. |
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| Comments |
The Royal Bank of Canada's decision to denominate this note in both dollars and sterling — 5 Dollars equaling 1 Pound 10 Pence — reflects the currency ambiguity that persisted in Canadian commerce long after Confederation. British sterling remained a practical reference point for trade, particularly in Atlantic-facing commerce, and dual-denomination notes smoothed transactions across that divide.
The American Bank Note Company held long-running contracts with several Canadian chartered banks during this period, producing work of consistently high intaglio quality from its New York facilities. By 1920, however, the dual-denomination convention was already commercially obsolete — Canada had committed firmly to the decimal dollar system, and this series was not long-lived.