50 Dollars

The Bank of Hamilton was one of Ontario's oldest chartered banks, founded in 1872, but by 1914 it was already in its final years — the Canadian Bank of Commerce absorbed it in 1924. Notes from this late period were issued under the provisions of the Bank Act of 1913, which tightened reserve requirements and accelerated consolidation among smaller regional institutions.

The American Bank Note Company printed the bulk of Canadian chartered bank issues of this period from its New York facility, and the Hamilton series shares plate characteristics with several contemporaries. At fifty dollars, this denomination would have seen limited everyday handling — primarily commercial and interbank settlement use, which partly accounts for survivors in decent condition.