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1 Dollar
| Issuer | Bank of Montreal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1823-1825 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S471 |
| Obverse description | Black intaglio on white paper. Central vignette of seated Britannia with shield, flanked by a sailing ship at upper centre; large guilloche numeral "1" medallions at left and right. Promise-to-pay text and bold denomination ONE DOLLAR printed below, with THE BANK OF MONTREAL inscription at foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | CHARTERED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT ONE DOLLAR THE BANK OF MONTREAL I Promise to pay or Bearer on Demand for value received For the President Directors & Company PAYABLE AT QUEBEC UNE PIASTRE |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Montreal, chartered in 1817, was among the earliest chartered banks in British North America and one of the first to issue notes that achieved anything close to widespread public confidence. These early 1820s dollars circulated in a monetary environment where "dollar" as a unit was still contested — British sterling, Spanish milled dollars, and American currency all competed in daily commerce, and bank notes from Montreal institutions were accepted at varying discounts depending on how far from the issuing branch they traveled.
The Graphic Company attribution for this series is relatively uncommon in early Canadian note printing — most contemporaneous issues from Montreal banks went to New York or Philadelphia engravers. Whether this represents a cost decision or a supply arrangement is not well documented.