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3 Dollars
| Issuer | Bank of Ottawa Montreal, Montreal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1838 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black on white cotton paper, the obverse is divided into three vertical panels: at left, a standing allegorical female figure with a staff rests her arm on a globe beside a large numeral "3" within an oval lathe-work medallion; at centre, a rural industrial vignette presents a watermill, stacked timber, and figures at labour amid trees; at right, a second oval medallion with the numeral "3" accompanies a female portrait within a wreath, with two counter stamps inscribed "THREE" in a rectangular panel below. The issuer's name "Bank of Ottawa Montreal" runs in bold script across the lower centre, above the promise-to-pay text and the denomination "THREE DOLLARS" in large letters. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted, the aged cream-coloured cotton paper exhibiting foxing, fold lines, and wear consistent with circulation. A single handwritten endorsement signature in ink appears at the centre of the otherwise blank surface. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Ottawa's presence in Montreal is something of a misnomer — the institution was not founded until 1874, decades after this note's date. A note catalogued as P#1913 from 1838 bearing that issuer name warrants close scrutiny: either the attribution conflates two distinct institutions, or the reference data contains an error. Canadian chartered banking before Confederation produced dozens of short-lived regional issuers, and misattributions in catalog records from this period are not uncommon.
Three-dollar denominations were a North American peculiarity of the era, driven by the practical arithmetic of Spanish dollar circulation alongside British monetary conventions.