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5 Dollars
| Issuer | Merchants Bank of Canada, Montreal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1906 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S1160 |
| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a central vignette of an ocean liner at sea, rendered in fine intaglio engraving. To the left, a standing figure of a fisherman or mariner appears in a secondary vignette, while a portrait of a gentleman in formal attire occupies the lower right. The denomination numeral '5' appears in each corner, with the bank title 'THE MERCHANTS BANK OF CANADA' in bold letterpress across the centre, and the date 'Feb. 1st 1906' and place of issue 'MONTREAL' inscribed in the upper portion. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is executed entirely in dark green intaglio, with an elaborate guilloche framework framing the central design. A large beaver vignette occupies the centre within an ornate cartouche, flanked symmetrically by bold numeral '5' counters set within intricate lathe-work rosettes. The bank name 'THE MERCHANTS BANK OF CANADA' arches above the central vignette in bold lettering. |
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| Comments |
The Merchants Bank of Canada had been operating under that name since 1868, but by the time this 1906 note was issued, the institution was already showing the structural weaknesses that would culminate in its forced absorption by the Bank of Montreal in 1922 — one of the more dramatic bank failures of early twentieth-century Canada. The American Bank Note Company in New York handled the printing, as it did for the majority of Canadian chartered banks during this period, when domestic printing infrastructure simply couldn't match ABNC's intaglio quality.
Notes from the Merchants Bank are not especially rare in issued form, but the 1906 dated series is less frequently encountered than the later 1919 issues.