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5 Dollars = 25 Shillings
| Issuer | Commercial Bank of the Midland District |
|---|---|
| Year | 1843 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Canadian Dollar |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio print on white paper. Large ornate numeral 5 at top centre flanked by two seated allegorical female figures with cherubs; oval portrait vignette of Prince Albert (Prince Consort) at left and Queen Victoria at right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Blue guilloche underprint with a central rectangular panel of fine lathe-work bearing the word FIVE in large serif letters; scalloped rosette vignettes at left and right within the guilloche border. |
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| Comments |
The Commercial Bank of the Midland District was one of Upper Canada's smaller chartered banks, headquartered in Kingston, and this dual-denomination note — expressing value simultaneously in dollars and shillings — reflects the genuinely messy monetary arithmetic of pre-Confederation Canada, where American dollars, British sterling, and Halifax currency all circulated in parallel without any fixed official equivalence.
The printer credit is uncertain: Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Co. became Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson in 1843, the same year this note was issued, which is why catalog attribution hedges between the two imprints. The transition was a partnership reorganization, not a change of premises or equipment — the New York shop continued without interruption.