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50 Dollars
| Issuer | Ontario Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1888 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#S1285 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DOMINION OF CANADA ONTARIO BANK WILL PAY TO BEARER FIFTY DOLLARS ON DEMAND TORONTO, 1st June, 1888 Capital $1,500,000 Incorporated in 1857 American Bank Note Co. New York |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in brown and displays an elaborate engine-turned guilloche design covering the full field. A large central oval, framed by intricate lathe-work scrollwork and floral ornaments, carries the numeral "50" at its centre. The issuer's name "ONTARIO BANK" is set in a rectangular panel at the lower centre, flanked by corner counters each bearing the numeral "50." The imprint "AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK" appears at the bottom margin. |
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| Comments |
The Ontario Bank was a mid-tier Canadian chartered bank headquartered in Oshawa, operating under Dominion charter from 1857 until its failure in 1906 — one of the more embarrassing Canadian bank collapses of the Edwardian period, triggered by fraud and insider lending. Notes issued in the final years before collapse are survivable, but the high denominations circulated in far smaller quantities and were typically retired quickly through interbank clearing rather than public hands.
ABNC's contract work for Canadian chartered banks in this period was prolific. Attribution to the New York plant is straightforward from the imprint, not the design lineage.