50 Dollars

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.