Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
5 Dollars = 1 Pound-5 Shillings
| Issuer | Bank of Montreal |
|---|---|
| Year | 183x |
| Type | Pattern or trial banknote |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Black intaglio print on white paper. Portrait of Christopher Columbus at left, central vignette with two allegorical female figures, a child, and an eagle within an ornate numeral 5 at upper centre, bird vignette below. Inscription PAYABLE AT QUEBEC appears in the text. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The image provided appears to be a show-through or back-to-front impression of the obverse; no independent reverse design elements are distinguishable on this pattern note. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Fairman, Draper and Underwood were among the most technically capable security printers operating in North America during the 1830s, and their work for the Bank of Montreal reflects the arms race against counterfeiters that dominated colonial banking. The dual denomination — five dollars expressed simultaneously as one pound five shillings — was a practical necessity in Lower Canada, where British sterling accounts and dollar-denominated trade coexisted in everyday commerce, and merchants needed notes that could settle debts in either system without conversion disputes.
The "183x" dating indicates the exact year was entered by hand at issuance, a common practice for pre-printed sheets held in bank stock across multiple years. Surviving examples are rare; the Bank of Montreal routinely cancelled and destroyed returned notes.