Old Money from The City Bank of Montreal

The City Bank of Montreal was open from 1833 until 1876.  In 1876 it merged with The Royal Canadian Bank to become the aptly titled Consolidated Bank of Canada.  The City Bank of Montreal issued paper money dated between 1833 and 1867.  Our guide below has more information about their bank notes.

Bank Notes from 1833 and 1834:

These notes are dated as 10 Oct. 1833 or 1 Augt 1834.  There are lots of ten dollar counterfeits out there.  Keep that in mind when dealing with these bank notes.  One, two, five, twenty, and one hundred dollar bills were also issued.  One dollar bank notes are occasionally available.  Everything else is extremely rare.

Dollars, Pounds, and Shillings 1851 – 1853:

These bank notes are interesting because they are denominated in dollars as well as pounds and shillings.  Rawdon, Wright, Hatch, New York handled the printing duties for The City Bank of Montreal.  Denominations include $1, $2, $4, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 bank notes.  Various issue dates are 3 June 1850, 1 May 1851, 1 May 1852, and 1 February 1853.  Prices start at around $500 and go up quickly from there based on the denomination and condition.

Office in Toronto 1850 – 1867:

These bank notes confuse casual collectors because they reference both Toronto and Montreal.  These were issued as one, two, five, ten, and twenty dollar bills.  Once again, many $10 bills are counterfeit.  Other denominations are likely authentic.  Notes can be dated as 1850, 1852, 1854, 1856, 1861, 1865, and 1867.  Contact us if you need valuation help.  Many of these are rare and valuable.

Office in Quebec 1839 – 1850:

These bank notes from The City Bank of Montreal also have text that reads as “Office in Quebec.”  These were issued as needed between 1839 and 1850.  Two and four dollar notes were printed.  The four dollar bill is also denominated as one pound.  These are rare today.

Bank Notes from 1857:

These bank notes from The City Bank of Montreal are fun to collect; but they are also challenging to find.  All notes are dated as Jan. 1st 1857, Jany 1st 1857, or simply January 1st 1857.  They can be signed by Geo. Ruthven, Fred MacCulloch, or Wm. G. Benson.  Many notes won’t have overprints.  Others could have Toronto, Quebec, or St. Catherines overprints.  Printing responsibilities were handled by Toppan, Cartpenter & Co. Montreal.  One, two, four, five, ten, and twenty dollar bank notes were printed.  Prices range from $250 to thousands of dollars.  Please contact us if you need help valuing your specific bank note.

GOT SOMETHING TO SELL?

We buy all types of Canadian currency.  We are especially interested in bank notes from The City Bank of Montreal.  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 City Bank of Montreal could look similar to the one seen below.  Lower denominations and notes from 1857 are the most common (but still relatively rare). Contact us for more value information about your specific bank note.