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2 Dollars = 10 Shillings
| Issuer | Bank of British North America |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Pattern or trial banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANK OF BRITISH NORTH AMERICA. TEN SHILLINGS, TWO DOLLARS We Promise to pay on demand at our Bank in SAINT JOHN, for value received For the Directors & Company. ACCOUNT? MANAGER. NEW BRUNSWICK. |
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| Variants | P#S248a - Kingston. Proof P#S248b - Toronto. Proof |
| Comments |
The Bank of British North America was chartered in London in 1836 and operated as a British imperial institution rather than a locally incorporated colonial bank — a distinction that shaped everything from its capital structure to its note designs. Perkins, Bacon & Co. produced engraved work of consistently high quality for colonial issuers, and their security printing for BBNA benefited from the same steel-engraving techniques they applied to postage stamps.
The dual denomination — dollars and shillings on the same face — reflects the genuinely chaotic monetary arithmetic of mid-nineteenth-century British North America, where Halifax currency, York currency, Spanish dollars, and sterling all circulated simultaneously in overlapping and incompatible systems.