Catalog
5 Pounds
| Issuer | Commercial Bank of New Brunswick, St. John |
|---|---|
| Year | 1853 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S1711 |
| Obverse description | The obverse is engraved in a classical early Victorian style, with large numeral «5» counters at left and right, and the word FIVE printed vertically along the right border. A seated allegorical female figure appears as a vignette at the lower left, while a central oval vignette bears the Royal Arms of New Brunswick surmounted by a crown with a small ship vignette below. The upper portion carries the denomination «£5 CURRENCY» and a series letter, with the promise-to-pay text reading «The President Directors & Co. of THE COMMERCIAL BANK OF NEW BRUNSWICK promise to pay FIVE POUNDS Cur.y bearer on demand ST. JOHN N.B.» in copperplate script and letterpress. Two cancellation punch holes are visible at the lower centre. |
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| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted, presenting plain cream-white cotton paper. Two cancellation punch holes are visible near the lower edge, corresponding to those on the obverse. |
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The Commercial Bank of New Brunswick was chartered in 1834 and operated out of Saint John, making it one of the more durable pre-Confederation Maritime institutions. By 1853, the American Bank Note Company — freshly consolidated from several competing New York engraving firms — was the prestige choice for Canadian colonial banks seeking notes that were difficult to counterfeit and visually authoritative.
New Brunswick continued issuing provincial chartered bank notes well after Confederation, but Dominion consolidation of the currency eventually forced institutions like this one to wind down their note-issuing privileges under the Bank Act of 1871. Survivors from the 1853 series are genuinely scarce — Saint John's catastrophic fire of 1877 destroyed financial records and likely whatever redemption stock remained.