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20 Dollars
| Issuer | Bank of Toronto |
|---|---|
| Year | 1887-1929 |
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| Printer | American Bank Note Company |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio-printed in black on white paper, the obverse carries at left an oval portrait vignette of Queen Victoria in right-facing profile, with a central vignette of a steam locomotive in motion flanked by serial number panels. The upper border bears the inscription 'CHARTERED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT' within a repeating numeral-20 pattern, while 'THE BANK OF TORONTO DOMINION OF CANADA' spans the upper centre above the date '1st July 1887' and place 'Toronto'. A large guilloche-underprinted denomination panel reading 'TWENTY DOLLARS' extends across the lower centre, with a seated female allegorical figure at lower right and signature lines for CASHIER and PRESIDENT. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in red-orange on white paper, the reverse is centred on a large medallion bearing a left-facing bust portrait of Queen Victoria, encircled by the inscription 'BANK OF TORONTO'. Two ornate guilloche rosette panels, each carrying the numeral '20', flank the central medallion at left and right, with intricate scrollwork and lathe-work filling the surrounding field. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Toronto, founded in 1855 to serve the grain and flour trade around Lake Ontario, was a mid-sized chartered bank that survived long enough to merge with the Dominion Bank in 1955, forming Toronto-Dominion. This $20 note spans an unusually long issue window — over four decades — reflecting how Canadian chartered banks of the period retained authorization to circulate their own notes under the Bank Act, with denominations above $5 subject to a note circulation tax introduced in 1891.
The American Bank Note Company's New York facilities handled printing for a substantial portion of Canada's chartered banking sector during this period, as no domestic security printer of comparable capability existed in Canada until well into the twentieth century.