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Canada

Canadian Charter Banks

Bank of Toronto

$5 1929

The Bank of Toronto has the destinction of having very uniquely designed notes that suggest a very 19th century look, but unlike many other Canadian banks their designs were proprietary to the bank, and not the banknote printers - meaning essentially that the vignettes on them would not be seen on any other notes that American Banknote Company and later Canadian Banknote Company printed for institutions around the world. These arms on the note are actually remarkably similar to the contemporary British coat of arms that appeared then on Scottish banknotes. Unlike their Scottish counterparts though, Canadian banks were not bound by the Lord Lyon's request that the arms be removed from commercial paper as in Britain in the early 1930's.

The Bank of Toronto was opened in 1856, with capital of $500,000. It's initial growth was quite conservative by the standards of the day - it kept a high reserve vs. capital ratio and kept expansion to a minimum. The result was a well respected institution with high share prices compared to competitors. The bank was merged with Dominion Bank in 1955 and is now known as TD Bank with locations throughout Canada and the NE USA. Notice the reverse of the note, with the stirring vignette of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria - Canadian institutions were not quite subject to the regulations of portrait usage on commercial paper that their British counterparts were by then bound to.

The designs of these banknotes look decidedly 19th century, so by 1929 they appeared to be an anachronism - but incredibly they survived even the downsizing of the notes in the 1935 issue and on up through the consolidation of the Charter banks note issues in the early 1940s by Bank of Canada. The vignette on the left of the note suggest an early portrait of Queen Victoria - but subject to interpretation.

This vignette, or rather, it's odd placement in the vertical of a horizontal note is rather curious. I conjecture that perhaps rather than it's placement being a result of tight space, that rather it was part of the design as a different anti-counterfeiting measure as this would create a challenge for a forger having to rotate a printing die.

Barclays Bank (Canada)

$10 1935

Barclays Bank, while not a immediately familiar name, is actually one of Great Britain's oldest banking institutions. From a founding by goldsmith bankers in 1690 the bank gradually grew into a commercial banking firm and expanded cautiously through the 18th and 19th centuries. The bank's Canadian branch was incorporated in Montreal in 1929 and was a relatively late-comer to issuing banknotes in Canada - and only for a very surprisingly short time. Indeed there were only to be two issues of banknotes, in 1929 and 1935 as by that time the Bank of Canada was being formed and was amalgamating banknote issue into the Crown Corporation of Bank of Canada.

The bank approached the newly formed Canadian Banknote Company to contract print their banknotes, the title of the vignette is "Communication" and is represented by a young lady gazing over a globe depicting North America. The reverse of the note, printed in a very dramatic orange, depicts the bank's headquarters in Montreal.

Barclay's Bank never grew into a very large institution in Canada, with the passing of the Westminster Act in 1931 and greater autonomy for Canada's laws the influx of capital from the London office became more difficult with new currency controls. The effects of the Great Depression and then WWII also had an effect on the balance sheet and by 1956 the officers were approaching other bank's in the interests of merging their operations - subsequently Barclays Bank Canada was absorbed by Imperial Bank of Canada - now known as the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

Canadian Bank of Commerce

$10 1907

In the late 19th century American Banknote Company developed a printing procedure using multiple printing passes to print notes, the results were stunning. Multiple printing passes meant that more use of vibrant colour was possible, making counterfeiting that much more difficult. Many very lovely notes were created for Canadian, Mexican and other Latin American countries during this time. Unfortunately economics soon caught up with this process and it was rendered obsolete by the costs associated with having to use several processes to print banknotes. This Canadian Bank of Commerce $10 remains a great example of this process with usage of dynamic colour coupled with lovely design.

$5 1935 Issue

The Canadian Bank of Commerce issued these lovely designs dating back into the early part of the century until this 1935 issue. The allegories are stirringly prominent on these notes such as this $5.

$10 1935 Issue

One fascinating aspect of this series is that the whole series is very attractive and well designed, usually there are some hits and misses with series. This $10 is very pastoral.

$20 1935 Issue

Many of the Canadian Chartered Banks issued very colourful currency during their tenure, the last issue was in 1942 by Royal Bank of Canada. Gradually the federal Bank of Canada took over all right of note issue in Canada by the late 1940's.

The Canadian Bank of Commerce had arguably the loveliest currency around, the designs dated into the early 20th century, and were actually American Banknote Company designs, but were continued after Canadian Banknote Company was spun off from the former. This particular $20 features Neptune and three naked young maidens on the front of the note, and a young man and woman on the reverse encompassing the institution's seal. Canadian Bank of Commerce merged with Imperial Bank of Canada in 1961 and continues in business as Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce or CIBC.

Standard Bank of Canada

$5 1891

This is one of those notes that has a very strong appeal to my prurient interests with attractive females on banknotes, there are not one or two, but five of them. Standard Bank of Canada was formed in 1876 and continued under it's name until 1928 when it became a part of the Canadian Bank of Commerce. The Standard Bank often had some of the loveliest banknotes in Canada during it's tenure in business, often times attractive feminine vignettes were the subject of their notes. Of course, this note is no exception.

This vignette is one of the most unique vignettes I have ever seen on a banknote, notice the young lady with her head pensively tilted slightly to her right, a work contemporarily referred to as "The Rose"

A lovely vignette of two young ladies, very similar vignettes were used on notes in Uruguay in Latin America during the 1860's.

This particular vignette with the young girl and flower basket was also used on Peruvian notes printed by American Banknote Company into the 1950's.

This vignette is very Canadian, and was unique to this note, with the young Canadian woman with the British shield and English Lion flanking her.

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