Catalog
5 Shillings
| Issuer | Bank of Prince Edward Island |
|---|---|
| Year | 1856 |
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| Currency | Canadian pound (1841-1858) |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black on white paper, the obverse carries the bold serif title 'BANK OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND' across the upper portion, with the denomination '5 SHILLINGS' repeated in oval guilloche panels at left and right and again vertically along the right margin. The left vignette presents a full-rigged sailing vessel under sail, while the central vignette shows a seated allegorical female figure with a child and a cauldron against a rocky coastal landscape. The body text includes the place of issue Charlottetown, a manuscript date, and signature lines for President and Cashier at lower right, with a branch notation at lower left and the printer's imprint. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | FIVE SHILLINGS |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Prince Edward Island was chartered in 1855 and opened the following year, making this 5 Shillings note one of the earliest issues from that institution. The colony was still operating in sterling denominations at this point — the shift toward dollar-based currency on the island came later, accelerated by Confederation pressures in the 1860s and 1870s.
Dickinson & Co. of London produced the note on their patented "Dickinson" cotton fibre paper, which incorporated silk threads as a security measure — an anti-counterfeiting technology the firm had been developing since the 1820s. Whether this specific printing used the threaded stock is not always consistent across Dickinson issues of the period.
The bank itself survived only until 1881, absorbed following financial difficulties.