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5 Dollars
| Issuer | Commercial Bank of Newfoundland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1888 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#S114 |
| Obverse description | Left vignette of a sailor in profile; central vignette of an allegorical seated figure of Commerce with a sailing vessel in the background, flanked by serial numbers; a seal vignette appears at lower right. Bank title in bold letterpress at top, with denomination "Five Dollars" in large script across the centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | COMMERCIAL BANK OF NEWFOUNDLAND / 5 / 5 |
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| Comments |
The Commercial Bank of Newfoundland was chartered in 1857 and survived longer than most of its colonial contemporaries, but it did not survive 1894. When the bank collapsed in December of that year — along with the Union Bank of Newfoundland, in what became the worst financial crisis in the island's history — outstanding notes became worthless overnight. The 1888 date on this note means it was in circulation for up to six years before that failure, and redemption was never made whole.
The British American Bank Note Company handled the plate work, as they did for most serious Canadian and colonial issuers of the period. Notes from failed Newfoundland banks that survived the crisis did so largely by accident — tucked away, forgotten, never presented for redemption precisely because holders either didn't know or couldn't reach a paying agent.