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50 Dollars
| Issuer | Bank of Montreal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Cotton paper |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in green intaglio on white paper, the reverse centres on an engraved architectural vignette of the Bank of Montreal's Toronto Branch — a grand Neoclassical building with a colonnaded facade. The inscription 'TORONTO BRANCH' appears below the building. Flanking the central vignette are large guilloche-bordered '50' numerals at left and right, with elaborate lathe-work borders framing the entire composition. 'BANK OF MONTREAL' arches across the top, and 'Fifty Dollars' is inscribed in script along the lower margin. |
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| Variants | P#S546(1) - signatures: Williams-Taylor & Meredith (variety 1) P#S546(2) - signatures: Williams-Taylor & Meredith (variety 2) |
| Comments |
The Bank of Montreal's 1914 $50 note arrives at a moment when Canadian chartered bank currency was entering its final decades of relevance — the 1914 Finance Act and subsequent Dominion of Canada legislative pressure would steadily erode the chartered banks' note-issuing role over the following generation. At $50, this was a high-denomination instrument by any practical measure; working-class wages in Canada at the time rarely exceeded $10 a week, meaning most recipients of this note would have been merchants, railway contractors, or financial intermediaries.
The American Bank Note Company's Ottawa facility handled production — worth noting because ABNC operated its Canadian plant largely to satisfy chartered bank clients wary of having their plates and paper cross the border unnecessarily.