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50 Dollars
| Issuer | Imperial Bank of Canada, Toronto |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a large dark green and orange intaglio-printed guilloche vignette at centre bearing the numeral '50' in bold, flanked by orange 'L'-shaped corner pieces and repeated denomination counters. At upper centre, the bank title 'IMPERIAL BANK OF CANADA' is printed in bold letterpress, with the promise clause 'WILL PAY TO BEARER ON DEMAND' immediately below. To the right, an oval portrait vignette presents a bust of an elderly gentleman in formal attire, rendered in fine line engraving. The date 'TORONTO, Nov. 1st 1923' appears below the central vignette, with 'FIFTY DOLLARS' in a panel at the base flanked by two manuscript signatures for the President and General Manager. |
|---|---|
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| Signature(s) | Peleg Howland F.A. Ralph |
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| Comments |
The Imperial Bank of Canada never grew into one of the country's dominant chartered banks — it was absorbed by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in 1961 — but its late note issues from the 1920s were produced to a high technical standard by the Canadian Bank Note Company at their Ottawa plant. The 1923 series represents some of the last privately circulated chartered bank currency in Canada before the Bank of Canada Act of 1934 began the process of consolidating note issue under federal control.
Fifty-dollar denominations from any chartered bank of this period saw limited day-to-day handling; the face value was substantial enough that most examples that survived did so in near-intact condition through hoarding or bank reserve retention rather than active commercial use.