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2 Dollars = 10 Shillings
| Issuer | Commercial Bank, Kingston |
|---|---|
| Year | 1837 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | P#S1687 |
| Obverse description | Intaglio-printed note with a central vignette of a seated female allegorical figure, surrounded by ornate scrollwork and foliate engraving at the left and right margins. The numeral '2' appears in counters at the upper left and upper right corners, with 'REAL ESTATE' and 'PLEDGED' inscriptions beneath the respective counters. A small landscape vignette occupies the lower left corner, and handwritten manuscript signatures of the Treasurer and President appear across the lower portion of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | NEW YORK EXCHANGE COMMERCIAL BANK KINGSTON FOREIGN & DOMESTIC EXCHANGE COMPANY TEN SHILLINGS Currency on Demand New York June 14 1837 Treas't Prest. |
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| Comments |
The Commercial Bank of Kingston was one of Jamaica's earliest joint-stock banking ventures, chartered under British colonial financial structures at a time when the island was transitioning away from the economic disruptions left by the 1834 Emancipation Act. Denominations expressed as dual equivalencies — dollars alongside shillings — reflect the genuine currency confusion of 1830s Jamaica, where Spanish-derived dollar accounting and British sterling both circulated with legal legitimacy.
Printed in New York rather than London, which is the more expected source for British colonial paper of this period. Whether this reflects a cost decision or an existing commercial relationship with a New York house is not documented in surviving bank records.