Catalog
5 Dollars
| Issuer | St. Stephens Bank, St. Stephen |
|---|---|
| Year | 1860 |
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| Value | 5 Dollars |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries the bank title ST. STEPHENS BANK in bold letterpress across the centre, above the written denomination FIVE DOLLARS. A central vignette shows a lion resting on a globe, flanked to the left by a sailor vignette at a shoreline and to the right by an oval portrait of Queen Victoria in royal regalia. The numeral 5 appears in a lathe-work medallion at upper left and in a second ornate counter at upper right, with the provincial inscription PROVINCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK across the top. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | PROVINCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK ST. STEPHENS BANK FIVE DOLLARS FIVE St. Stephen The President, Directors & Co. American Bank Note Company |
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| Comments |
St. Stephen, New Brunswick was a small border town directly across the St. Croix River from Calais, Maine, and that geography shaped how its local banknotes actually functioned. In the 1850s and 1860s, the two communities operated with such economic integration that American and Canadian currency circulated interchangeably on both sides — a practical arrangement that persisted long after it should have, legally speaking.
The American Bank Note Company handled a substantial portion of Maritime provincial bank printing at this period, which accounts for the New York origin. St. Stephens Bank itself was a modest chartered institution; notes from it surface rarely, and Pick 1417 suggests a very limited series.