Catalog
5 Dollars / 1 Pound and 10 Pence Royal Bank of Canada
| Issuer | The Royal Bank of Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE ROYAL BANK OF CANADA WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND AT PORT OF SPAIN TRINIDAD THE SUM OF FIVE DOLLARS IN TRINIDAD CURRENCY REDEEMABLE ONLY IN TRINIDAD PORT OF SPAIN TRINIDAD FIVE TRINIDAD DOLLARS THE EQUIVALENT OF £1-0-10 |
| Reverse description | The centre of the reverse bears a finely engraved intaglio vignette of the British Royal Arms with lion and unicorn supporters, surmounted by the imperial crown, and the motto ribbons DIEU ET MON DROIT below the shield. Denomination panels reading FIVE TRINIDAD DOLLARS THE EQUIVALENT OF £1-0-10 appear in bold letterpress to the left and right of the arms. The issuer name THE ROYAL BANK OF CANADA is lettered across a decorative cartouche at the base, all printed in green on a white ground with fine guilloche border work. |
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| Comments |
The dual denomination — 5 Dollars on one face, 1 Pound and 10 Pence on the other — reflects a practical reality of Caribbean commerce in 1920, where British colonial territories operated on sterling while Canadian trade and banking ran on dollars. The Royal Bank had significant operations throughout the West Indies by this period, and a single note serving both currency systems reduced the need for separate issues across multiple branches.
The American Bank Note Company's Ottawa plant handled the job, that branch having taken on substantial Canadian chartered bank work after the First World War.