Catalog
50 Dollars
| Issuer | Banque Canadienne Nationale |
|---|---|
| Year | 1929 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Dollars |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark blue-black intaglio with orange guilloche underprint. At centre, a vignette of the Maisonneuve Monument in Montreal is set within an arched frame, flanked by two large ornate orange 'BCN' monogram cyphers. Portrait vignettes appear at left and right: an elderly gentleman at left and a mustachioed gentleman at right. Denomination numerals '50' appear in each upper corner, with bilingual text and the issuer's title across the top. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in olive-green intaglio and displays an elaborate central vignette of the Canadian coat of arms surrounded by the provincial shields, all enclosed within a large ornate guilloche oval frame. Numeral '50' appears in two flanking cartouches within the frame. A dense lathe-work border of interlocking scrollwork surrounds the entire composition, with the issuer's name inscribed across the lower centre and the printer's imprint at the bottom edge. |
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| Comments |
The Banque Canadienne Nationale was formed in 1924 through the merger of the Banque Nationale and the Banque d'Hochelaga — two of Quebec's oldest chartered banks — and its note-issuing life was comparatively brief. Canadian chartered bank currency was effectively killed off by the Bank of Canada Act of 1934, which phased out private bank circulation entirely by 1950, with most institutions withdrawing much earlier once the central bank began operations in 1935.
A 1929-dated $50 from a regional Quebec institution represents a genuinely high face-value note issued just months before the crash that would reshape Canadian banking permanently. High-denomination chartered bank notes of this period rarely circulated hard — they moved between businesses and clearing houses — which cuts both ways on survivorship.