Canadian pound
Encyclopedia
The pound was the unit of account for currency of the Canadas
until 1858. It was subdivided into 20 shilling
s, each of 12 pence
. In Lower Canada
, the sou
was used, worth penny. Although the pounds, shillings, and pence accounting system had its origins in British sterling
, the Canadian pound was not actually equal in value to the Pound sterling
during the period of its existence.
) accounts system, by setting a valuation for these coins in terms of a pound unit. At one stage, two such units were in widespread use in the British North American colonies. The Halifax rating
dominated, and it set the Spanish dollar equal to 5 shilling
s. As this was 6 pence more than its value in silver, the Halifax pound was consequently lower in value than the Pound sterling
which was actually the original basis for the pounds, shillings, and pence accounting system. The York rating
of 1 Spanish dollar = 8 shillings was used in Upper Canada
, officially until its outlawing in 1796, but unofficially well into the 19th century.
In 1825, an Imperial order-in-council was introduced for the purposes of causing sterling
specie coinage to circulate in the colonies. The idea was that this order-in-council would make the sterling coins legal tender at the exchange rate of 4 shillings and four pence per Spanish dollar
. This rate was in fact unrealistic and it had the adverse effect of actually driving out what little sterling specie coinage was already circulating. Remedial legislation was introduced in 1838 but it was not applied to the British North American colonies due to recent minor rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada.
In 1841, the Province of Canada
adopted a new system based on the Halifax rating
. The new Canadian pound was equal to 4 U.S. dollars (92.88 grains gold), making one pound sterling
equal to 1 pound 4 shillings 4 pence Canadian. Thus, the new Canadian pound was worth 16 shillings 5.3 pence sterling. The earliest Canadian postage stamps were denominated in this Halifax unit.
The 1850s was a decade of wrangling over whether to adopt a sterling monetary system or a decimal monetary system based on the US dollar. The local population, for reasons of practicality in relation to the increasing trade with the neighbouring United States, had an overwhelming desire to assimilate the Canadian currency with the American unit, but the imperial authorities in London still preferred the idea of sterling to be the sole currency throughout the British Empire
. In 1851, the Canadian parliament passed an act for the purposes of introducing a pound sterling
unit in conjunction with decimal fractional coinage. The idea was that the decimal coins would correspond to exact amounts in relation to the US dollar fractional coinage. The authorities in London refused to give consent to the act on technical grounds. This was the last time that the imperial authorities in London ever questioned Canada
's internal jurisdiction.
As a compromise, in 1853 an act of the Canadian parliament introduced the gold standard into Canada, based on both the British gold sovereign and the American gold eagle coins
. This gold standard was introduced with the gold sovereign being legal tender at £1 = US$. No coinage was provided for under the 1853 act. Sterling coinage was made legal tender and all other silver coins were demonetized. Dollar transactions were legalized. The British government in principle allowed for a decimal coinage but nevertheless held out the hope that a sterling unit would be chosen under the name of royal. However in 1857 the decision was made to introduce a decimal coinage into Canada in conjunction with the US dollar unit. Hence, when the new decimal coins were introduced in 1858, Canada's currency became aligned with the US currency, although the British gold sovereign continued to remain legal tender at the rate of £1 = right up until the 1990s. In 1859, Canadian postage stamps were issued with decimal denominations for the first time.
In the year 1861, New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia
followed Canada in adopting a decimal system based on the US dollar unit. In the following year, Canadian postage stamps were issued with the denominations shown in dollars and cents.
In 1865, Newfoundland
introduced the gold standard in conjunction with decimal coinage, but unlike in the cases of Canada
, New Brunswick
, and Nova Scotia
, it decided to adopt a unit based on the Spanish dollar
rather than on the US dollar, and there was a slight difference between these two units. The US dollar was created in 1792 on the basis of the average weight of a selection of worn Spanish dollars. As such, the Spanish dollar was at a slight discount to the US dollar, and likewise, the Newfoundland dollar
while it existed, was at a slight discount to the Canadian dollar
. Newfoundland was the only part of the British Empire
to introduce its own gold standard coin. A Newfoundland gold two dollar coin was minted intermittently until Newfoundland finally adopted the Canadian monetary system in 1894, following the Newfoundland banking crash.
In 1867, Canada
, New Brunswick
, and Nova Scotia
united in a federation called the Dominion of Canada and the three currencies were united.
In 1871, Prince Edward Island
went decimal within the US dollar unit and introduced coins for 1 cent. However, the currency of Prince Edward Island was absorbed into the Canadian system shortly afterwards when Prince Edward island joined the Dominion of Canada.
) and Lower Canada (Canada East
, modern southern Quebec
) issued copper tokens. Between 1835 and 1852, the Bank of Montreal
, the Banque du Peuple, the City Bank
and the Quebec Bank
issued 1- and 2-sou (- and 1-penny) tokens for use in Lower Canada. The Bank of Upper Canada
issued - and 1-penny tokens between 1850 and 1857.
, denominations were given in both dollars and pounds/shillings, with 1 dollar = 5 shillings. Many banks issued notes, starting with the Bank of Montreal
in 1817. See Canadian chartered bank notes
for more details. Denominations included 5, 10 and 15 shillings, 1, , , 5, and 25 pounds. In addition, small value, "scrip" notes were issued in 1837, by the Quebec Bank, in denominations of 6 pence (12 sous), and dollar, and by Arman's Bank, in denominations of 5, 10 and 15 pence (10, 20 and 30 sous).
The Canadas
The Canadas is the collective name for Upper Canada and Lower Canada, two British colonies in Canada. They were both created by the Constitutional Act of 1791 and abolished in 1841 with the union of Upper and Lower Canada....
until 1858. It was subdivided into 20 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s, each of 12 pence
Penny
A penny is a coin or a type of currency used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.-Etymology:...
. In Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
, the sou
Solidus (coin)
The solidus was originally a gold coin issued by the Romans, and a weight measure for gold more generally, corresponding to 4.5 grams.-Roman and Byzantine coinage:...
was used, worth penny. Although the pounds, shillings, and pence accounting system had its origins in British sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
, the Canadian pound was not actually equal in value to the Pound sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
during the period of its existence.
History
In North America, the scarcity of British coins led to the widespread use of Spanish dollars. These Spanish dollars were accommodated into a pounds, shillings, and pence (£sd£sd
£sd was the popular name for the pre-decimal currencies used in the Kingdom of England, later the United Kingdom, and ultimately in much of the British Empire...
) accounts system, by setting a valuation for these coins in terms of a pound unit. At one stage, two such units were in widespread use in the British North American colonies. The Halifax rating
Halifax rating
The Halifax rating was a valuation of the Spanish dollar in the £sd accounting system. It set the Spanish dollar at a value of 5 shillings and was established c.1750 in Halifax, Nova Scotia...
dominated, and it set the Spanish dollar equal to 5 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s. As this was 6 pence more than its value in silver, the Halifax pound was consequently lower in value than the Pound sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
which was actually the original basis for the pounds, shillings, and pence accounting system. The York rating
York rating
The York rating was a valuation of the Spanish dollar in the £sd accounting system. It set the dollar equal to 8 shillings . The rating was named after the colony of New York where it was adopted . It was also used in Upper Canada by United Empire Loyalists following the American War of...
of 1 Spanish dollar = 8 shillings was used in Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
, officially until its outlawing in 1796, but unofficially well into the 19th century.
In 1825, an Imperial order-in-council was introduced for the purposes of causing sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
specie coinage to circulate in the colonies. The idea was that this order-in-council would make the sterling coins legal tender at the exchange rate of 4 shillings and four pence per Spanish dollar
Spanish dollar
The Spanish dollar is a silver coin, of approximately 38 mm diameter, worth eight reales, that was minted in the Spanish Empire after a Spanish currency reform in 1497. Its purpose was to correspond to the German thaler...
. This rate was in fact unrealistic and it had the adverse effect of actually driving out what little sterling specie coinage was already circulating. Remedial legislation was introduced in 1838 but it was not applied to the British North American colonies due to recent minor rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada.
In 1841, the Province of Canada
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada, United Province of Canada, or the United Canadas was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of...
adopted a new system based on the Halifax rating
Halifax rating
The Halifax rating was a valuation of the Spanish dollar in the £sd accounting system. It set the Spanish dollar at a value of 5 shillings and was established c.1750 in Halifax, Nova Scotia...
. The new Canadian pound was equal to 4 U.S. dollars (92.88 grains gold), making one pound sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
equal to 1 pound 4 shillings 4 pence Canadian. Thus, the new Canadian pound was worth 16 shillings 5.3 pence sterling. The earliest Canadian postage stamps were denominated in this Halifax unit.
The 1850s was a decade of wrangling over whether to adopt a sterling monetary system or a decimal monetary system based on the US dollar. The local population, for reasons of practicality in relation to the increasing trade with the neighbouring United States, had an overwhelming desire to assimilate the Canadian currency with the American unit, but the imperial authorities in London still preferred the idea of sterling to be the sole currency throughout the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. In 1851, the Canadian parliament passed an act for the purposes of introducing a pound sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
unit in conjunction with decimal fractional coinage. The idea was that the decimal coins would correspond to exact amounts in relation to the US dollar fractional coinage. The authorities in London refused to give consent to the act on technical grounds. This was the last time that the imperial authorities in London ever questioned Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's internal jurisdiction.
As a compromise, in 1853 an act of the Canadian parliament introduced the gold standard into Canada, based on both the British gold sovereign and the American gold eagle coins
Eagle (United States coin)
The eagle is a base-unit of denomination issued only for gold coinage by the United States Mint. It has been obsolete as a circulating denomination since 1933. The eagle was the largest of the four main decimal base-units of denomination used for circulating coinage in the United States prior to...
. This gold standard was introduced with the gold sovereign being legal tender at £1 = US$. No coinage was provided for under the 1853 act. Sterling coinage was made legal tender and all other silver coins were demonetized. Dollar transactions were legalized. The British government in principle allowed for a decimal coinage but nevertheless held out the hope that a sterling unit would be chosen under the name of royal. However in 1857 the decision was made to introduce a decimal coinage into Canada in conjunction with the US dollar unit. Hence, when the new decimal coins were introduced in 1858, Canada's currency became aligned with the US currency, although the British gold sovereign continued to remain legal tender at the rate of £1 = right up until the 1990s. In 1859, Canadian postage stamps were issued with decimal denominations for the first time.
In the year 1861, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
followed Canada in adopting a decimal system based on the US dollar unit. In the following year, Canadian postage stamps were issued with the denominations shown in dollars and cents.
In 1865, Newfoundland
History of Newfoundland and Labrador
The History of Newfoundland and Labrador is the story of the peoples who have lived in what is now the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador....
introduced the gold standard in conjunction with decimal coinage, but unlike in the cases of Canada
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada, United Province of Canada, or the United Canadas was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, it decided to adopt a unit based on the Spanish dollar
Spanish dollar
The Spanish dollar is a silver coin, of approximately 38 mm diameter, worth eight reales, that was minted in the Spanish Empire after a Spanish currency reform in 1497. Its purpose was to correspond to the German thaler...
rather than on the US dollar, and there was a slight difference between these two units. The US dollar was created in 1792 on the basis of the average weight of a selection of worn Spanish dollars. As such, the Spanish dollar was at a slight discount to the US dollar, and likewise, the Newfoundland dollar
Newfoundland dollar
The dollar was the currency of the colony and Dominion of Newfoundland from 1865 until 1949, when Newfoundland became a province of Canada. It was subdivided into 100 cents.-History:...
while it existed, was at a slight discount to the Canadian dollar
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
. Newfoundland was the only part of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
to introduce its own gold standard coin. A Newfoundland gold two dollar coin was minted intermittently until Newfoundland finally adopted the Canadian monetary system in 1894, following the Newfoundland banking crash.
In 1867, Canada
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada, United Province of Canada, or the United Canadas was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
united in a federation called the Dominion of Canada and the three currencies were united.
In 1871, Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
went decimal within the US dollar unit and introduced coins for 1 cent. However, the currency of Prince Edward Island was absorbed into the Canadian system shortly afterwards when Prince Edward island joined the Dominion of Canada.
Coins
Both Upper Canada (Canada West, modern southern OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
) and Lower Canada (Canada East
Canada East
Canada East was the eastern portion of the United Province of Canada. It consisted of the southern portion of the modern-day Canadian Province of Quebec, and was primarily a French-speaking region....
, modern southern Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
) issued copper tokens. Between 1835 and 1852, the Bank of Montreal
Bank of Montreal
The Bank of Montreal , , or BMO Financial Group, is the fourth largest bank in Canada by deposits. The Bank of Montreal was founded on June 23, 1817 by John Richardson and eight merchants in a rented house in Montreal, Quebec. On May 19, 1817 the Articles of Association were adopted, making it...
, the Banque du Peuple, the City Bank
City Bank
The City Bank was an early bank in Ontario in the 19th century and merged with Royal Canadian Bank to form Consolidated Bank of Canada in 1876....
and the Quebec Bank
Quebec Bank
Quebec Bank was founded on June 9, 1818 to meet a perceived need by some merchants and residents Quebec City. They wanted an alternative to the newly founded Bank of Montreal which they felt was inadequate for the needs of the province....
issued 1- and 2-sou (- and 1-penny) tokens for use in Lower Canada. The Bank of Upper Canada
Bank of Upper Canada
The Bank of Upper Canada was a Canadian bank established in 1821 under a Charter granted by the colony of Upper Canada in 1819. The incorporators were William Allan, Robert C. Horne, John Scarlett, Francis Jackson, William W. Baldwin, Alexander Legge, Thomas Ridout, his son Samuel Ridout, D’Arcy...
issued - and 1-penny tokens between 1850 and 1857.
Banknotes
On notes issued by the chartered banksBanking in Canada
Banking in Canada is widely considered the most efficient and safest banking system in the world, ranking as the world's soundest banking system for the past three years according to reports by the World Economic Forum. Released at October 2010, Global Finance magazine put Royal Bank of Canada at...
, denominations were given in both dollars and pounds/shillings, with 1 dollar = 5 shillings. Many banks issued notes, starting with the Bank of Montreal
Bank of Montreal
The Bank of Montreal , , or BMO Financial Group, is the fourth largest bank in Canada by deposits. The Bank of Montreal was founded on June 23, 1817 by John Richardson and eight merchants in a rented house in Montreal, Quebec. On May 19, 1817 the Articles of Association were adopted, making it...
in 1817. See Canadian chartered bank notes
Canadian chartered bank notes
The Canadian chartered bank notes were paper money issued between 1817 and 1944 by private Canadian banks known as chartered banks.Notes were issued in a variety of different denominations, including 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20, 25, 40, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 dollars. After 1871, the smallest denomination...
for more details. Denominations included 5, 10 and 15 shillings, 1, , , 5, and 25 pounds. In addition, small value, "scrip" notes were issued in 1837, by the Quebec Bank, in denominations of 6 pence (12 sous), and dollar, and by Arman's Bank, in denominations of 5, 10 and 15 pence (10, 20 and 30 sous).