Black on green underprint. Central vignette of a young Queen Mary within an elaborate guilloche frame. Printer imprint of ABNC Ottawa appears at lower margin.
Only three examples of the Dominion of Canada 1911 $500 are confirmed to exist in private and institutional hands, making this among the rarest Canadian notes of the twentieth century. The denomination was never intended for public circulation — notes of this size moved between financial institutions and chartered banks for settlement purposes, which is precisely why so few survived redemption and destruction cycles.
The American Bank Note Company had relocated its Canadian operations to Ottawa by this period, printing high-denomination Dominion notes domestically rather than shipping work across the border as had been done in earlier decades.
Only three examples of the Dominion of Canada 1911 $500 are confirmed to exist in private and institutional hands, making this among the rarest Canadian notes of the twentieth century. The denomination was never intended for public circulation — notes of this size moved between financial institutions and chartered banks for settlement purposes, which is precisely why so few survived redemption and destruction cycles.
The American Bank Note Company had relocated its Canadian operations to Ottawa by this period, printing high-denomination Dominion notes domestically rather than shipping work across the border as had been done in earlier decades.