Catalog
5 Dollars / Piastres
| Issuer | Montreal Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1819 |
| Type | Pattern or trial banknote |
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| Obverse description | The face of this letterpress-printed trial note is dominated by the full promise-to-pay text of the Montreal Bank, running across the central body and identifying the obligation as payable on demand from the joint funds of the Association. Ornamental guilloche panels and oval vignettes occupy the upper register and lateral borders, while the denomination numeral '5' appears within decorative frames at each corner. The note is hand-dated 'Montreal, 1 Mar. 1819' and carries two manuscript signatures beneath the main text legend. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | The President Directors and Company of the MONTREAL BANK Promise to pay to Cash or bearer in Montreal at the Bank Five Dollars on Demand out of the joint Funds of the Association and no other MONTREAL 1 Mar. 1819 FIVE DOLLARS 5 |
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| Comments |
The Montreal Bank — later chartered and renamed the Bank of Montreal in 1822 — was operating on a provisional basis when this note was issued, having opened in 1817 without formal legislative sanction. Early notes like this one circulated under considerable public skepticism, as Upper and Lower Canada had no established framework for chartered banking, and merchants frequently questioned whether redemption on demand would actually be honored.
John Gray was a founding director and a central figure in pushing the bank's early operations forward. The dual English and French denomination wording reflects the commercial reality of Montreal's bilingual mercantile community, not a regulatory requirement.