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5 Dollars
| Issuer | Bank of British Columbia, Victoria |
|---|---|
| Year | 1894 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Green and black intaglio-printed note with a central allegorical vignette of two seated female figures representing Commerce and Navigation, with a sailing vessel in the background. The bank title 'The Bank of British Columbia' is inscribed in large gothic lettering across the centre, above the promise to pay text and the place and date line reading 'Victoria, B.C., Jan. 1st, 1894'. Corner counters carry the numeral '5' within ornate guilloche rosettes, and the upper margin bears the inscription 'Incorporated by Royal Charter 1862'. |
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| Variants | S216s - specimen S216a - issued note |
| Comments |
The Bank of British Columbia was a London-incorporated institution that operated branches across the Pacific Northwest, including into American territory — an unusual arrangement that reflected the permeable commercial geography of the region before hard borders calcified trade. By 1894, the bank was in serious difficulty. It was absorbed by the Canadian Bank of Commerce the following year, making late issues like this one genuinely short-lived in circulation.
The American Bank Note Company in New York handled the printing, as it did for a number of Canadian chartered bank issues during this period. Notes from the bank's final years are scarce; most remaining stocks were retired during the 1901 merger consolidation process.