Old Money from The Merchants Bank of Halifax

This bank was open from 1864 until 1901.  In 1901 The Merchants Bank of Halifax renamed itself as the Royal Bank of Canada and moved its main office to Montreal.  The Royal Bank of Canada is still active and it is the largest bank in Canada.  All bank notes from The Merchants Bank of Halifax are very rare.  Our guide below has much more information.

Bank Notes from 1864:

The Merchants Bank of Halifax printed $20 bills dated as 1st October 1864.  There are two varieties.  One has a border going around the front of the bill, the other does not.  The first type is signed by Geo. Maclean and J.W. Merkel; the second type is always signed by T.E. Kenny.  Both varieties were printed by Blades, East & Blades, London.  These are both very rare bank notes.

Bank Notes from 1869 & 1870:

Four, five, and twenty dollar bank notes were printed in five total varieties.  The $4 and $5 bills are dated as July 1st 1870.  The $20 bills are dated as 1st October 1869.  Some denominations have a green or orange overprint that reads as “Canadian Currency, 1 July, 1871.”  Any bank note from 1869 or 1870 should be considered very rare.

Bank Notes from 1871 – 1874:

Bank notes issued by The Merchants Bank of Halifax from 1871 to 1874 are grouped together because they all have the same designs.  Here is a break down of issue years and denominations:
July 1st 1871:  $4, $5
1st Jany. 1872: $4, $5
1st Octr. 1873:  $4, $5, $20
1st January 1874:  $10
Some four dollar notes are overprinted with “Summerside.”  There are also lots of counterfeit $10 notes from 1874, you have been warned.  Jeremiah Northup signed some bank notes from 1871.  Generally speaking, any bank note from this time period is very rare.

Bank Notes from 1878 & 1879:

The Merchants Bank of Halifax issued four dollar bank notes on 1st January 1878 and ten dollar bank notes on 1st Jany 1879.  Both notes are very rare.

1880 Bermuda Bank Notes:

This is a very interesting bank note.  We know that in September of 1882 The Merchants Bank of Halifax requested 2,000 $5 bills with an overprint to read as “One Pound One Shilling Sterling At Bermuda.”  They should have an engraved date of 1st July 1880.  Proofs are dated “Oct. 6, 1882.”  We have a specimen shown below.  An issued bank note has never been found.  The discovery of such an item would be quite the find!

Bank Notes from 1880 – 1898:

Five, ten, and twenty dollar bank notes printed between 1880 and 1898 are grouped together because they have similar designs across the same denomination for different years.  These are called “no portrait” bank notes.  Here is how the dating breaks down by denomination:
1st July, 1880:  $5, $10
January 1st 1883:  $20
2nd July 1888:  $5
1st May 1890:  $5
2nd Jany. 1892:  $5
2nd Jany. 1893:  $10
2nd Jany. 1896: $5, $10
January 1st 1898:  $20
All of these bank notes are extremely scarce and rarely available on the market today.

Bank Notes from 1894 – 1899:

The Merchants Bank of Halifax issued “portrait” notes for 1st June 1894, Jan. 2 1896, and 2nd Jany. 1899.  These are called portrait notes because they each have an engraved image of T.E. Kenny, who also happened to sign each of these bank notes.  Five dollar bills were printed for each date listed above.  $50 and $100 bills were only printed for 1899 and could be dated as July 18th 1899 or July 3, 1899.  All of these bank notes are very scarce!

GOT SOMETHING TO SELL?

We buy all types of Canadian currency.  We are especially interested in bank notes from The Merchants Bank of Halifax.  You might be surprised at how much money we can offer for some currency.  Send us an email with pictures of the front and back of your bank note and we will respond quickly with our offer.

Manning@CanadaCurrency.com

Sample Bank Note Image:

Your piece of currency from The Merchants Bank of Halifax could look similar to the one seen below, but many different designs and denominations were used during the life of the bank.  Your currency probably looks different.  What we have pictured below is a specimen note.  If your note is signed, dated, and numbered, then it will be worth lots of money.  Issued bank notes are much rarer than specimens and proofs.  Contact us for more value information.