Old Money from The Bank of Hamilton

The Bank of Hamilton issued paper money for more than 50 years.  It operated from 1872 until 1923.  The bank was eventually joined with The Canadian Bank of Commerce.  The Bank of Hamilton had 157 branches when it was absorbed in 1923.  The bank issued more than two dozen different types of paper money over its lifetime.  Our guide below has pictures of twenty of those bank notes.  Please contact us if you would like a free appraisal or offer on your bank note.

Bank Notes from 1872 & 1873:

The Bank of Hamilton issued four, five, and ten dollar bills dated as 1st Sept. 1872 and 2nd Sept. 1872.  Twenty, fifty, and one hundred dollar bank notes were printed with a date of 2nd January 1873.  The $4 and $5 bills are occasionally available to collectors; all other denominations are very rare.  The printing duties were handled by The British American Bank Note Co. Montreal & Ottawa.

Bank Notes from 1887:

The Bank of Hamilton printed two different five dollar bills in 1887.  The first note is dated as 1st March, 1887.  It has a portrait of and is signed by John Stuart.  This bank note is extremely rare.  Other five dollar bills were issued and dated as Dec. 1st 1887.  These are still very rare, but they are more common than the first variety.  The second variety was printed by The Canada Bank Note Co. Montreal.  It also has a portrait and signature of John Stuart.  The $5 bill pictured below is the December 1st 1887 variety.

1892 $5 Bills:

Currency issued by The Bank of Hamilton really first becomes collectible with the series of 1892.  The five dollar bill is the lowest denomination and the most common bank note for that year.  It comes in two varieties.  One is engraved with the word “Cashier” the slightly more common variety reads as “pro Cashier”.  Each bank note has an engraving of John Stuart and the bank building.

1892 $10 Bills:

All of these ten dollar bills are dated as 1st June 1892.  These are occasionally available for sale, but they are still very rare.  All bank notes from 1892 were printed by the Western Bank Note Co. Chicago.

1892 $20 Bills:

Twenty dollar bills from 1st June 1892 are all very rare.  Each note has a portrait of John Stuart and vignettes of a stag’s head and a ploughing scene.

1892 $50 Bills:

Fifty dollars bills from 1892 printed by the Bank of Hamilton are currently not know to exist.  These would be great to find.  The vignette of a ship and a vignette of Indians hunting buffalo with a train in the background would resonate with a lot of collectors.

1892 $100 Bills:

This is another very rare denomination that is currently not thought to have survived redemption.  One hundred dollars was a large sum of money in 1892.  If you were lucky enough to have a $100 bill then you probably spent it.

1904 $5 Bills:

Five dollar bills from 2nd Jan. 1904 are relatively common compared to other denominations from the same year.  About twenty of these are thought to be held with collectors.  Many more are still out there waiting to be found.  Prices start at about $500 and can go up quickly from there based on condition.

1904 $10 Bills:

The Bank of Hamilton printed 1904 $10 bills and they are about five times rarer than $5 bills from the same year.  All bank notes should be signed by William Gibson and dated with a January 2nd 1904 engraved date.

1904 $20 Bills:

Right now it is thought that only two or three 1904 $20 bills are known to exist.  That of course makes these bank notes very rare.  Each bank note has a portrait of King Edward VII, thus giving these appeal to an even wider range of collectors.

1904 $50 Bills:

These are very rare bank notes.  The front has a vignette showing Queen Alexandra seated on a throne.

1904 $100 Bills:

The Bank of Hamilton issued some 2nd Jan. 1904 one hundred dollar bank notes.  These also have a portrait of King George VII on the front of them.  This is not something you are going to able to find at the local coin shop.

1909 & 1914 $5 Bills:

Five dollar bills were printed for 1909 and 1914.  These are actually relatively common in circulated condition.  Prices start at just $100.  High grade examples are much rarer though and they can sell for more than $1,000.  Records show that 2.3 million of these $5 bank notes were printing in total from 1909 and 1914 combined.

1909 & 1914 $10 Bills:

These bank notes are dated as either 1st June 1909 or 1st June 1914.  Ten dollar bills from 1909 trade for about 50% more than 1914 examples.  The back of each note says Bank of Hamilton Dominion of Canada.  Just over 1.5 million ten dollar bank notes were printed for the two years combined.

1909 & 1914 $20 Bills:

These twenty dollar bank notes can be signed by William Gibson, John S. Hendrie, or J.P. Bell.  The Bank of Hamilton hired the American Bank Note Co. Ottawa to print all bank notes from 1909 and 1914.  Twenty dollar bills from 1909 are very rare; 1914 examples are more common, but still worth at least a few hundred dollars.  Only 11,000 1909 $20 bills were printed.  The same denomination from 1914 had a printing of 115,000.

1909 & 1914 $50 Bills:

Fifty dollar bills from 1909 have yet to be found by collectors.  They were definitely issued though.  The 1st June 1914 $50 bills are certainly more common, but you will still need at least a couple thousand dollars to buy an example in a heavily circulated condition.  These are very rare today because only about 27,000 were printed.

1909 & 1914 $100 Bills:

The Bank of Hamilton issued $100 bills dated as 1909 or 1914.  Both years are very rare.  It is thought that a total of just 12,000 $100 bills were printed from both 1909 and 1914 combined.

1922 $5 Bills:

Official records show that 125,000 1st March 1922 $5 bills were printed.  Based on the serial number range of surviving examples it is likely that only about 15% of that total was actually released into circulation.  That is why these are all very rare today.

1922 $10 Bills:

All 1st June 1922 bank notes were issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of The Bank of Hamilton.  The ten dollar denomination is especially beautiful.  A total of 75,000 of these were printed.  Data suggests that only about 12,000 made it into the hands of the public.  These are scarce today.

1922 $25 Bills:

All bank notes dated as 1st June 1922 were printed by the American Bank Note Company, Ottawa.  They were signed by John S. Hendrie and J.P. Bell.  Surprisingly, the $25 denomination is the most common of the three types printed.  These were probably saved in higher numbers because of their strange denomination.

GOT SOMETHING TO SELL?

We buy all types of Canadian currency.  We are especially interested in bank notes from The Bank of Hamilton.  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 Bank of Hamilton could look similar to the one seen below.  It is just one of many different denominations and designs used by the bank over its lifetime.  Many bank notes are very rare and some are more common than others.  Contact us for more value information.