Catalog
50 Dollars
| Issuer | Bank of Toronto |
|---|---|
| Year | 1906-1929 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio engraving on a light underprint ground. At centre, a detailed vignette of a large Victorian Gothic stone building, flanked on the left by a bold bull's head vignette and on the right by a pastoral rural scene of cattle being driven by a ploughman. The bank's title, THE BANK OF TORONTO, arcs across the upper centre, with DOMINION OF CANADA below it and CAPITAL $5,000,000 along the top margin. Large guilloche-framed denomination numerals 50 appear at both upper corners, with FIFTY DOLLARS in bold letterpress along the lower centre, and the note bears manuscript date, place, promise-to-pay text, and two manuscript signatures across the lower field. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | BANK OF TORONTO 50 CANADIAN BANK NOTE COMPANY LIMITED |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Toronto was founded in 1855 to serve the Methodist farming community around Toronto, and it remained a regional chartered bank throughout its existence before merging into the Toronto-Dominion Bank in 1955. A $50 denomination from a private Canadian chartered bank represents a high-value commercial instrument — this was serious working capital for agricultural and mercantile transactions, not everyday retail currency. The Canadian Bank Note Company in Ottawa produced work of consistently high engraving quality during this period, and chartered bank notes circulated alongside Dominion of Canada government issues under a system that persisted until 1944.
The 1906–1929 span reflects the typical dating practice for Canadian chartered note series, where a single approved design ran until the issuing institution retired it or revised its charter obligations under the Bank Act renewal cycle.