Catalog
5 Dollars = 1 Pound 5 Shillings
| Issuer | International Bank of Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1858 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S1817 |
| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a central pastoral vignette of cattle and figures in a rural landscape, rendered in fine intaglio engraving. The bank title INTERNATIONAL BANK OF CANADA arches across the top, with TORONTO and the date September 1st 1858 inscribed below; the denomination FIVE DOLLARS appears in bold letterpress at centre, with the equivalent value ONE POUND FIVE SHILLINGS noted at lower left. Numeral 5 counters appear in each corner, with ornate guilloche work and a large V counter at lower left, while the note bears the charter notation CHARTERED BY PARLIAMENT at the base. |
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| Obverse lettering | INTERNATIONAL BANK OF CANADA Will Pay to Bearer on Demand FIVE DOLLARS TORONTO September 1st 1858 CAPITAL $1,000,000 ONE POUND FIVE SHILS CHARTERED BY PARLIAMENT 5 FIVE V |
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| Comments |
The International Bank of Canada was a short-lived chartered institution, incorporated under the Province of Canada's free banking legislation but never fully established on sound footing. It failed in 1859, barely a year after this note was issued, leaving redemption uncertain and circulating notes effectively worthless almost immediately upon collapse.
The dual denomination — five dollars alongside the sterling equivalent — reflects the monetary awkwardness of colonial Canada in 1858, still straddling British accounting conventions and the decimal dollar system formalized only that same year by the Province of Canada Currency Act.
American Bank Note Company had recently consolidated several competing New York engraving firms when it took on this commission.