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20 Dollars / 4 Pounds 3 Shillings 4 Pence Royal Bank of Canada
| Issuer | The Royal Bank of Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1938 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE ROYAL BANK OF CANADA WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND AT GEORGETOWN BRITISH GUIANA THE SUM OF TWENTY DOLLARS IN BRITISH GUIANA CURRENCY REDEEMABLE ONLY IN BRITISH GUIANA GEORGETOWN BRITISH GUIANA TWENTY BRITISH GUIANA DOLLARS THE EQUIVALENT OF £4-3-4 |
| Reverse description | The full Royal Arms of the United Kingdom is rendered as a large central vignette in intaglio, supported by the lion and unicorn as heraldic supporters on a red-printed ground, with the motto ribbon DIEU ET MON DROIT below. Denomination panels flanking the arms each read TWENTY BRITISH GUIANA DOLLARS THE EQUIVALENT OF £4-3-4, and the issuer's name is set in a bold cartouche at the base. The entire design is framed by elaborate guilloche scrollwork borders. |
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| Comments |
The Royal Bank of Canada's dual-denomination notes — expressing value simultaneously in dollars and sterling — were issued specifically for use in Newfoundland and the British Caribbean territories, where sterling accounting remained standard practice well into the twentieth century. By 1938, this was already an anachronism on the Canadian mainland, but the Bank's branch network in Barbados, Trinidad, and elsewhere made the conversion format a practical necessity rather than an affectation.
Pick S142 falls in the private commercial issues section precisely because the Royal Bank, though chartered federally, was not a government issuer. The Canadian Bank Note Company produced the bulk of Canadian chartered bank paper from its Ottawa facilities throughout the interwar period.