Canadian chartered bank notes

Between 1871 and 1944, Canadian chartered banks were authorized to issue bank notes for circulation in Canada.[1] In 1899, they were invested with the additional authority to issue bank notes for circulation in any British colony or possession.[2] For several decades thereafter, the chartered banks were the only issuers of larger denominated notes for circulation in Canada, and an important source of notes for circulation in the British West Indies.

In 1934, the newly-established Bank of Canada was given "the sole right to issue notes payable to bearer on demand". [3] Coincident with the introduction of the new Bank of Canada notes in 1935, arrangements were made for the gradual contraction in the quantity of chartered bank notes in circulation. As of the end of 1944, the Canadian government withdrew permission for Canadian banks to issue new notes for circulation in Canada; and by 1950, liability for all outstanding Canadian bank notes was transferred to the Bank of Canada, where such notes may still be redeemed.[4] The total value of the notes outstanding at that time was $13,302,046.60.

Domestic Issues

Notes for circulation in Canada were issued in a variety of different denominations, including 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20, 25, 40, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 dollars. In 1871, the smallest denomination allowed was 4 dollars,[5] which was raised to 5 dollars in 1880.[6]

The following is a list of banks with note-issuing privileges and the periods during which they issued notes in Canada. The end dates are the dates appearing on the last note issues, but notes may have circulated for some time after.

Colonial Bank of Canada, Toronto, 1859, $4.. Standing Justice (left) and portrait of Queen Victoria (center). Obverse
Bank of Hamiton, 1892, $5
Canadian Bank of Commerce, Trinidad, 1939, $5
Royal Bank of Canada, Barbados, 1938, $20 or £4.3.4. Obverse
Bank of Nova Scotia, Jamaica, 1930, £1. Obverse


List of Canadian Chartered Banks that issued notes

for circulation in Canada [7]

BankDates of Issues
Agricultural Bank1834-1837
Arman's Bank1837
Bank of Acadia1872
Bank of Brantford1859
Bank of British Columbia1862-1894
Bank of British North America1852-1911
Bank of Canada (commercial)[8]1818-1823
Bank of Charlottetown1852
Bank of Clifton1859-1861
Bank of Fredericton1837-1838
Bank of Hamilton1872-1922
Bank of Liverpool1871
Bank of London1883
Bank of Lower Canada1839-1851
Montreal Bank/
Bank of Montreal
1817-1942
Bank of New Brunswick1820-1906
Bank of Nova Scotia1834-1935
Bank of Ottawa1874-1913
Bank of Prince Edward Island1856-1877
Bank of the County of Elgin1856
Bank of Toronto1856-1937
Bank of Upper Canada1819-1861
Bank of Vancouver1910
Bank of Western Canada1859
Bank of Yarmouth1860-1891
Banque Canadienne1836
Banque Nationale/
Banque Canadienne Nationale
1860-1935
Banque de Peuple1835-1892
Banque de St. Hyancinthe1874-1892
Banque de St. Jean1873-1906
Banque d'Hochelaga1874-1920
Banque Internationale de Canada1862-1895
Banque Provinciale du Canada1900-1936
Banque St. Jean Baptiste1875
Banque Ville Marie1873-1889
Barclays Bank Canada1929-1935
Canada Bank Company[9]1792
Canadian Bank of Commerce1867-1935
Central Bank of Canada1884
Central Bank of New Brunswick1847-1860
Charlotte County Bank1852-1859
City Bank1833-1857
City Bank, Saint John, New Brunswick1836-1838
Colonial Bank of Canada1859
Colonial Bank of Chatham1837
Commercial Bank1834
Commercial Bank1837
Canadian Commercial Bank1857-1891
Commercial Bank of Montreal1835-1836
Commercial Bank of New Brunswick1837-1860
Commercial Bank of the Midland District1832-1854
Commercial Bank of Windsor1860-1898
Consolidated Bank of Canada1876
Crown Bank of Canada1904
Dominion Bank1871-1938
Eastern Bank of Canada1929
Eastern Townships Bank1859-1906
Exchange Bank1839-1844
Exchange Bank of Canada1872-1873
Exchange Bank of Canada, Windsor1864
Exchange Bank of Toronto1855
Exchange Bank of Yarmouth1869-1902
Farmers Bank of Canada1907-1908
Farmers' Bank of Rustico1864-1872
Farmers' Bank of St. Johns1837-1839
Farmers' Joint Stock Banking Company1835-1849
Federal Bank of Canada1874-1884
Goderich Bank1834
Gore Bank1836-1856
Halifax Banking Company1825-1898
Hart's Bank1837-1838
Henry's Bank1837
Home Bank of Canada1904-1920
Hudson's Bay Company1820-1870
Imperial Bank of Canada1875-1939
International Bank of Canada1858-1859
Kingston Bank1837-1843
MacDonald and Co.1863
Maritime Bank of the Dominion of Canada1873-1882
Mechanics Bank1872
Mercantile Banking Corporation1878
Merchants Bank of Canada1868-1919
Merchants Bank of Halifax1864-1899
Merchants Bank of Prince Edward Island1871-1900
Merchants Exchange Bank1853
Metropolitan Bank, Montreal1872
Metropolitan Bank1902-1912
Molsons Bank1837-1922
New Castle District Loan Company1836
Newcastle Banking Company1836
Niagara District Bank1854-1872
Niagara Suspension Bridge Bank1836-1841
Northern Bank1905
Northern Crown Bank1908-1914
Ontario Bank1857-1898
People's Bank of Halifax1864-1903
People's Bank of New Brunswick1864-1905
Pictou Bank1874-1882
Provincial Bank of Canada[10]1856
Quebec Bank1818-1911
Royal Bank of Canada1901-1943
Royal Canadian Bank1865-1872
Saint Francis Bank1850
Sovereign Bank of Canada1902-1907
St. Lawrence Bank1872
St. Stephens Bank1830-1903
Stadacona Bank1874
Standard Bank of Canada1876-1924
Sterling Bank of Canada1906-1921
Summerside Bank of Prince Edward Island1866-1900
Tattersall Bank1830
Traders Bank of Canada1885-1910
Union Bank1838
Union Bank of Canada1886-1921
Union Bank of Halifax1861-1909
Union Bank of Lower Canada1866-1871
Union Bank of Montreal1840
Union Bank of Prince Edward Island1864-1877
United Empire Bank of Canada1906
Western Bank of Canada1882-1890
Westmorland Bank1854-1861
Weyburn Security Bank1911
Zimmerman Bank1854-1856


British West Indies Issues

In the British West Indies, Canadian bank notes circulated from 1900 to 1950 alongside notes of the Colonial Bank (later, Barclays Bank) and, in some places, notes of smaller denominations issued by local authorities. [11]

The following is a list of the Canadian banks that issued notes for circulation in the British West Indies, together with the dates and denominations of those issues.

List of Canadian Chartered Banks that issued notes

for circulation outside of Canada

Bank Dates of

Issues

Denominations
Canadian Bank of Commerce
- Barbados 1922 and 1940 $5, $20, $100
- Jamaica 1921 and 1938 £1, £5
- Trinidad 1921 and 1939 $5, $20, $100
Bank of Nova Scotia
- Jamaica 1900, 1919,

1920 and 1930

£1, £5
Royal Bank of Canada [12]
- Antigua 1913, 1920

and 1938

$5
- Barbados 1909, 1920

and 1938

$5, $20, $100
- British Guiana 1913, 1920

and 1938

$5, $20, $100
- Dominica 1913, 1920

and 1938

$5
- Grenada 1909, 1920

and 1938

$5
- Jamaica 1911 and 1938 £1, £5
- St Kitts 1913, 1920

and 1938

$5
- St Lucia 1920 $5
- Trinidad 1909, 1920

and 1938

$5, $20, $100
Union Bank of Halifax
- Trinidad 1905 $5, $10, $20, $50, $100

References

  1. See Bank Act, Statutes of Canada, 1871, chapter 5; Bank Act, Statutes of Canada, 1944, chapter 30, section 61. For a complete catalogue of Canadian chartered bank note issues, see R. J. Graham (ed.), Canadian Bank Notes, 9th ed., The Charlton Press, Toronto, 2019
  2. See An Act to amend the Bank Act, Statutes of Canada, 1899, c. 14
  3. Bank of Canada Act, Statutes of Canada, 1934, chapter 43, section 24
  4. See An Act to amend the Bank Act, Statutes of Canada, 1944, chapter 30, section 61.
  5. Bank Act, Statutes of Canada, 1871, chapter 5, section 8.
  6. Bank Act, Statutes of Canada, 1880, chapter 22, section 12(2).
  7. The list includes some banks and other institutions that issued notes prior to the establishment of Canada in 1867 and the enactment of the first Bank Act in 1871.
  8. Not related to the present Bank of Canada
  9. It is uncertain whether these notes were ever put into circulation
  10. Not related to the later Banque Provinciale du Canada
  11. For a history of these issues, see Michael H. Ryan, "Canadian Banknotes for the British West Indies, 1900-1950", International Bank Note Society Journal, vol. 58, no. 1 (2019), pp. 22-35.
  12. The 1920 and 1938 issues were also denominated in sterling: $5 = £1.0.10; $20 = £4.3.4; $100 = £20.16.8. Not all notes are known in issued form.
  • Pick, Albert (1990). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: Specialized Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (6th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-149-8.

See also

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