50 Dollars

The Dominion Bank was a Toronto-chartered institution with roots going back to 1871, and by 1931 it was in the final years of independent operation before its 1955 merger with the Bank of Toronto to form the Toronto-Dominion Bank. High-denomination chartered bank notes like this $50 were issued in small quantities and saw very limited everyday circulation — large-value notes from this period moved primarily between businesses and financial institutions, which means genuine wear from hand-to-hand use is unusual.

Canadian Bank Note Company held the contract for the Dominion Bank series during this period, producing work from its Ottawa plant. The 1931 date places this note just inside the window when Canadian chartered banks could still issue their own currency under the Bank Act — that right was effectively curtailed with the establishment of the Bank of Canada in 1934 and the subsequent phased withdrawal of chartered bank notes from circulation.