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50 Dollars - F.E.C. School Bank Montreal, Quebec
| Issuer | F.E.C. Banque Scolaire, Montreal, Quebec |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Fantasy banknote |
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| Obverse description | Central oval vignette encircled by a laurel wreath contains a bust portrait of Frère Marie-Victorin in clerical dress, with his name inscribed in the oval surround. Large numeral '50' panels flank the central vignette on either side, each surmounted by the inscription 'BANQUE SCOLAIRE' in bold letterpress. A foliate guilloche border frames the entire note, with numeral '50' repeated at the lower corners, and two horizontal scroll panels below the portrait bearing the denomination legend 'Cinquante'. The entire design is printed in blue ink on pale blue paper. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The central field is occupied by a large photographic aerial vignette of the Montreal Botanical Garden, rendered in blue halftone print and showing the formal garden layout with symmetrical paths, flowerbeds, and surrounding trees. The denomination '$50' appears in bold gothic script at the upper left and upper right corners. Along the left margin, the inscription 'Frère Marie-Victorin' is set vertically, while the right margin carries a vertical legend identifying him as founder of the Institut Botanique and the Jardin Botanique de Montréal. A copyright and printer's imprint runs along the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
F.E.C. — almost certainly the Frères des Écoles Chrétiennes, the French-language Catholic teaching order known in English as the De La Salle Brothers — operated school banking programs across Quebec in the early twentieth century as a tool for teaching children savings habits. These scolaire notes were not legal tender and carried no redemptive value outside the classroom ledger system; they circulated only within the school's internal economy, awarded for academic performance or deposited into mock accounts.
Survival rate is surprisingly low. Paper this thin, handled by children and stored in desks, rarely lasted beyond a single school year.