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1 Pound
| Issuer | Bank of British North America |
|---|---|
| Year | 1837 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Perkins, Bacon & Petch |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio print on cream paper. The bank's armorial vignette at upper centre is flanked by two standing figures, with the curved legend BANK OF BRITISH NORTH AMERICA above; branch inscriptions ST. JOHN'S and NEWFOUNDLAND appear at upper left and right. Numeral counters at left and right, a guilloche oval counter inscribed ONE at lower left, and a promise-to-pay text panel with ONE POUND in bold letterpress occupy the lower half. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANK OF BRITISH NORTH AMERICA / St. John's / Newfoundland / Promise to Pay the Bearer on Demand ONE POUND Currency IN SPECIE / For the Bank of British North America / ONE / MANAGER / Ent. / Account. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of British North America was chartered by the British Crown in 1836 specifically to operate across multiple provinces — an unusual structure for the period, when most colonial banks were tied to a single chartered territory. This note dates to the bank's first year of active operation. Perkins, Bacon & Petch were the dominant security printers of the era, their steel-engraving technique developed originally for banknote work in the United States before Perkins relocated the firm to London in 1819.
1837 was a catastrophic year for North American banking generally — the Panic of 1837 triggered widespread specie suspension across the continent. How the BBNA navigated that first crisis shaped its reputation for the decades that followed.