Catalog
5 Shillings
| Issuer | Bank of Prince Edward Island |
|---|---|
| Year | 1856 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries a central vignette of a seated allegorical female figure flanked by a sailing ship vignette at left and numeral 5 counters at each corner within ornate guilloche frames. The bank title "Bank of Prince Edward Island" runs across the centre in bold letterpress, with the denomination "Five Shillings" stated in the promise text below. Manuscript date and signatures appear at the lower portion, with "Charlottetown" noted as the place of issue. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is a plain unprinted. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Prince Edward Island was chartered in 1856, the same year this note was issued — making early examples essentially inaugural currency for the institution. The colony was still seventeen years from Confederation, and its banking sector operated under separate colonial legislation that gave local banks unusual latitude in note design and denomination structures, including the retention of sterling denominations like shillings at a time when most mainland British North American banks had already shifted to dollars.
Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson was among the most prolific bank note engravers in North America at the time; the firm would soon merge into the American Bank Note Company in 1858. The North Eastern Bank Note Company credit likely reflects a regional distribution or finishing arrangement rather than a separate design origin.