Catalog
5 Dollars
| Issuer | Bank of Clifton |
|---|---|
| Year | 1859 |
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| Value | 5 Dollars |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Engraved in fine intaglio, the obverse carries the inscription PROVINCE OF CANADA at the top, with a seated allegorical female figure at left beside a lathe-work numeral 5 medallion and a central scenic vignette of an industrial or canal landscape with a suspension bridge. A steam locomotive with railway cars appears at lower right, while a bold red letterpress overprint FIVE runs across the lower centre above the issuer name THE BANK OF CLIFTON and the denomination FIVE DOLLARS, with a manuscript signature at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed on plain paper and shows a faint mirror-image offset of the obverse design, with the bold red FIVE overprint visible in reverse at centre and lathe-work numeral medallions apparent at the corners, consistent with an unissued or minimally circulated obsolete note of this type. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Clifton was a short-lived Upper Canadian institution operating out of Clifton, Ontario — now Niagara Falls — and its notes were essentially designed for cross-border commerce with American visitors to the falls. The 1859 issue predates Confederation by nearly a decade, placing it firmly in the Province of Canada period when dozens of small chartered and quasi-chartered banks issued their own paper with minimal central oversight.
Pick 1662 is scarce. The bank's operating window was narrow, redemption was erratic, and notes that circulated along the tourist corridor tended to take hard use quickly.