Bank of Upper Canada:
Copper Penny Token, 1850
The Bank of Upper Canada was established in 1821 in York
(Toronto, Ontario) under a charter granted by the Province of
Upper Canada in 1819. When Upper and Lower Canada were united in
1841 to form the Province of Canada, it was decided that only the
bank that held the government accounts should have the right to
issue copper tokens. This privilege was enjoyed by the Bank of
Montreal until 1848. Following the passage of the Rebellion
Losses Bill in 1849, rioting in Montreal led to the destruction
of the legislative buildings and the capital of the province was
transferred to Toronto. As a result, the right to issue tokens
passed to the Bank of Upper Canada. Between 1850 and 1857 the
Bank of Upper Canada issued a series of handsome penny and
halfpenny copper tokens. The obverse of a penny token issued in
1850 is shown and features a St. George and the
dragon motif encircled by the legend BANK OF UPPER CANADA and the
date. The St. George motif was designed by Benedetto Pistrucci for
the British sovereign of 1817 and is considered to be the
definitive representation of the theme. The token is about the
size of a Canadian silver dollar and is part of the National
Currency Collection, Bank of Canada.
Photography by James Zagon, Ottawa.
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