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10 Dollars / Piastres
| Issuer | Montreal Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1818 |
| Type | Pattern or trial banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries a central vignette of a harbour or riverside townscape engraved in fine intaglio line work, attributed to G. Threipland as noted in the lower left. The text reads 'The President Directors & Co. of The Montreal Bank Promise to pay $10 or bearer on demand Ten Dollars out of the Joint funds of the Association or otherwise,' with the denomination '10' repeated in the left and right panel borders. Two manuscript or printed signatures appear at the lower left and right, with a small vignette of a decorative cartouche at centre-bottom, above the cashier's and president's signature lines. |
|---|---|
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| Signature(s) | B. Broffie and John Gray |
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| Comments |
The Montreal Bank — later rechristened the Bank of Montreal — was chartered in 1817, making this among the earliest notes issued by what would become Canada's oldest chartered bank. Private banknotes in Lower Canada at this date occupied a legally ambiguous position; no formal banking legislation governed the province until 1822, meaning these notes circulated on reputation alone.
The bilingual denomination pairing reflects the fractured commercial reality of Montreal at the time — a city split between an anglophone merchant class and a francophone majority, both of whom had to be served by the same instrument. G. Threipland engraved locally rather than relying on the established American bank note firms, which was unusual for the period and explains some of the rougher execution compared to contemporaries printed by Murray, Draper or their successors.