Old Money from The Bank of Toronto

The Bank of Toronto operated as The Millers Association of Canada West back before it obtained note issuing privileges.  It reorganized as The Bank of Toronto in 1855, but it didn’t open for business until July 8, 1856.  It had a policy of focusing on industries and farming rather than real estate.  It also brought branch banking to rural areas that were under-served.  The bank was very successful while other banks in Toronto struggled or failed.  In 1954 The Bank of Toronto and The Dominion Bank merged to become The Toronto-Dominion Bank.  Our guide has more information about paper money from The Bank of Toronto.  Please contact us if you have any questions.  We do purchase all bank notes from this institution.

Bank Notes from 1856 – 1865:

The first thing we need to mention is that currency from this time period was frequently counterfeited or altered.  So if you have a bank note printed between 1856 and 1865 you will definitely want an expert to check it out.  Generally speaking, most of these bank notes are very rare.  They were printed in small quantities and few have survived.  Notes can be dated as 3rd July 1856, 3 Jany 1857, July 2nd 1859, 2d July 1859, or July 3rd 1865.  There are lots of different varieties, most of which are based on overprints and protectors.  Possible overprints include:  Barrie, Cobourg, Collingwood, Montreal, Peterboro, Port Hope, and St. Catherines.  Wm. Gooderham, J.G. Chewett, Jas. G. Worts, and J.G. Chewett signed some bank notes.  Many other bankers who we don’t have record of also signed.  Printing duties were handled by Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson, New York and by The American Bank Note Co. New-York.  One, two, four, five, and ten dollar bank notes were issued by The Bank of Toronto.  Pretty much the least one of these could be worth is $500.  Most varieties should be worth a multiple of that.  Of course exact values all depend on rarity and condition.  Please contact us if you need a free appraisal.

Bank Notes from 1876:

This is a rare bank note; records show that only 25,000 were issued by The Bank of Toronto.  It is dated as 1st January 1876.  Only four dollar bills were issued for this date.  These notes can be overprinted for Collingwood, St. Catherines, or have no overprint at all.  J.G. Worts is pictured on the left hand side of the note.  William Gooderham is on the right.  We would certainly welcome the chance to purchase one of these bank notes.

Bank Notes from 1880:

1880 marks the first year that The Bank of Toronto issued $20 bills.  Five and ten dollar bills were also printed; they had similar to designs to previous issues.  These notes are dated as July 1st 1880 and 1st July 1880.  Once again, overprints are possible.  They include both St. Catherines and Petrolia.  All denominations are very scarce.  Please contact us if you need an exact value.

Bank Notes from 1887 – 1929:

You don’t want to accuse a bank of being lazy.  However, The Bank of Toronto really didn’t get very adventurous with their bank note designs from 1855 until 1937.  The $50 bill was used for the first time in 1890.  Five, ten, and twenty dollar bills were reissued with the same designs as previous years.  The designs would stay the same even after the physical size of the money was changed in 1935.  One can only assume the bank felt there was some brand recognition in its notes and it didn’t want to change that.  It was also cheaper to never redesign notes.  So we wound up with some very antique looking money printed well into the 20th century.  There are dozens of varieties to notes from 1887 to 1929.  These notes can be dated as 1887, 1890, 1892, 1906, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1917, 1920, 1923, or 1929.  Possible overprints include Brantford, Cardinal, Cartwright, Coldwater, Copper Cliff, Creemore, Elmvale, Gananoque, Gaspe, Keene, King St. West Br., London, Millbrook, Montreal, Niagara Falls Centre, Oil Springs, Omemee, Peterboro, Point St. Charles, Port Hope, St. Catherines, Sudbury, Victoria Harbour, Waterloo, and Winnipeg.  Of course not every note will have an overprint.  Values range from $50 to thousands of dollars.  Just do yourself a favor and send us pictures of your bank note.  We can check to see if it is a rare variety and tell you what it is worth.

Bank Notes from 1935 & 1937:

The Canadian Bank Note Company, Limited printed $5, $10, and $20 bills for The Bank of Toronto in 1935 and 1937.  The exact engraved dates are 2nd Jan 1935, 2nd January 1935, 2nd Jan 1937, and 2nd January 1937.  Signors include H.B. Henwood, F.H. Marsh, W.G. Woogerham, and Jno. R. Lamb.  Most five and ten dollar bills are worth between $50 and $500 based on their condition.  Twenty dollar bills trade for about three times more money.

GOT SOMETHING TO SELL?

We buy all types of Canadian currency.  We are especially interested in bank notes from The Bank of Toronto.  You might be surprised at how much money we can offer for some currency.  Many of these bank notes are just flat out rare and we always pay up when we have the chance to purchase one.  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 Toronto could look similar to the one seen below.  There are dozens of different varieties that exist.  Odds are that you have something different.  Contact us for more value information.