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50 Dollars
| Issuer | Union Bank of Canada, Winnipeg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1912 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Dollars |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Green-tinted note with an intaglio-printed portrait vignette of a young woman in a wide-brimmed hat at the left, set within an ornate lathe-work border. The centre carries the large numeral '50' over a green guilloche rosette, with the bank title 'UNION BANK OF CANADA' arched above and the denomination 'FIFTY DOLLARS' in bold letterpress below. To the right, a scenic landscape vignette of a castle or cliff-top fortification is surrounded by fine engine-turned scrollwork, with the place and date 'Winnipeg, July 1st 1912' inscribed at the top. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green, the reverse is dominated by an elaborate guilloche underprint centred on an oval panel bearing the inscription 'UNION BANK OF CANADA' within a shield-shaped frame flanked by two circular lathe-work rosettes. Corner vignettes carry finely engraved botanical motifs — lilies and other flora — set against dense engine-turned backgrounds. The large counter numeral '50' appears in mirror orientation at upper right, and the printer's imprint runs along the lower margin. |
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The Union Bank of Canada was a major western Canadian institution headquartered in Winnipeg, and by 1912 it had expanded aggressively across the prairies following the settlement boom. High-denomination chartered bank notes like this $50 piece were not retail instruments — they moved between merchants, land agents, and commercial borrowers, which means genuine circulation examples are substantially worn, while uncirculated survivors likely never left a vault.
The British American Bank Note Company in Ottawa was the dominant supplier to Canadian chartered banks by this period, producing notes for dozens of issuers. The Union Bank was absorbed by the Royal Bank of Canada in 1925, ending its note-issuing authority.