The reverse is printed in reddish-brown letterpress and is otherwise unadorned, bearing only the large bold inscription 'FIVE SHILLINGS' centred horizontally across the note.
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.
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.