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2 Dollars = 10 Shillings
| Issuer | Commercial Bank of the Midland District |
|---|---|
| Year | 1836 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Dollars |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio print on white paper. A harbor scene vignette occupies the left panel, flanked at center by an allegorical male figure beside an urn. An allegorical male vignette appears at upper right, with a seated allegorical female figure at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain unprinted reverse on aged paper stock, showing no design elements, vignettes, or lettering. |
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| Comments |
The Commercial Bank of the Midland District was chartered under Upper Canada's 1821 Free Banking legislation and operated out of Kingston, Ontario — then a town of modest commercial weight but strategically positioned on Lake Ontario. The dual denomination, two dollars on one side of the ledger and ten shillings on the other, reflects the genuine monetary confusion of 1830s Upper Canada, where British sterling, American dollars, and Halifax currency all circulated simultaneously with no fixed official relationship between them.
Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson were among the most technically capable security printers in North America at the time, responsible for a significant portion of early Canadian chartered bank paper. The Kingston bank's decision to go to New York for printing rather than use a local or British firm was entirely typical of Upper Canadian institutions in this period.