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5 Dollars
| Issuer | Macdonald & Co., Bankers |
|---|---|
| Year | 1863 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#S1848 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | MACDONALD & CO. BANKERS ESTABLISHED 1859 Victoria VANCOUVERS ISLAND. NUMBER We promise to pay the Bearer on demand at our Office here the sum of Five Dollars for value received 6 Sept. 1863 5 |
| Reverse description | Plain unprinted reverse. |
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| Comments |
Macdonald & Co. was a private banking house operating in British Columbia during the Fraser River and Cariboo gold rush years. Private bank notes circulated freely in the colony at this period — the colonial government had not established a chartered bank with note-issuing authority, leaving the field open to merchant bankers willing to back their paper with gold dust on deposit.
Britton & Co. of San Francisco handled much of the commercial engraving and printing work for Pacific Coast businesses in this period, including trade cards, certificates, and currency for issuers on both sides of the border. The firm was not a security printer in the formal sense, which partly explains why these notes are considered quite rare today — the issuing house itself was short-lived.