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3 Dollars = 15 Shillings
| Issuer | Bank of Montreal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1844 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S489 |
| Obverse description | The obverse is executed in a crisp intaglio engraving typical of mid-19th-century North American bank note production. A central allegorical vignette portrays a reclining female figure surrounded by clouds and floral elements, flanked on the left and right margins by two large ornate numeral '3' counters, each accompanied by a standing classical female figure. The bank title 'BANK OF MONTREAL' arches across the top, with dual denomination statements — '3' and 'Fifteen Shillings' — inscribed in bold letterpress, and capital stock figures appearing along the lower border. |
|---|---|
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| Variants | P#S489a - Montreal. Partially engraved date. Printer: RWH & C. 1.1.1844 P#S489b - Quebec. 1.5.1844 |
| Comments |
The Bank of Montreal was chartered in 1817 and became the closest thing British North America had to a central bank for much of the nineteenth century. This dual-denomination note — expressing value simultaneously in dollars and shillings — reflects the monetary confusion of pre-Confederation Canada, where Halifax Currency, York Currency, and dollar reckoning all competed in daily commerce. The precise shilling equivalent printed here, fifteen, aligns with the Halifax Currency standard at five shillings to the dollar.
By the 1850s the dollar had effectively won, and notes denominated in shillings were phased out entirely following currency standardization in the Province of Canada.