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20 Dollars = 5 Pounds
| Issuer | Bank of British North America |
|---|---|
| Year | 18xx |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio on cotton paper with green word protector underprint. Portrait of Queen Victoria at left, two allegorical female figures in vignette at upper centre, and a reclining allegorical woman with a sailing ship in the background at right. A small supported royal arms appears at bottom centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain unprinted reverse on aged cream cotton paper, entirely unadorned, consistent with a pattern or trial piece intended to display only the obverse design. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of British North America occupied an unusual structural position: chartered in London in 1836 under a British act of Parliament rather than by any colonial legislature, it operated across multiple provinces simultaneously at a time when most banks were jurisdiction-specific. That dual accountability — to British shareholders and colonial regulators alike — shaped nearly every aspect of how it issued currency, including the dual-denomination format on this note, which accommodated both the dollar-denominated commerce of British North America and the pound-sterling conventions still preferred in formal accounting and trade remittances.
Perkins, Bacon & Co. held a long relationship with the bank, supplying engraved plates of consistently high anti-counterfeiting quality. The undated "18xx" blanks were a deliberate production choice, allowing a single plate run to serve across multiple issue years with dates completed at the branch level.