1933 $5 Imperial Bank of Canada, PMG Certified Choice Very Fine 30

This scarce 1933 five-dollar note issued by the Imperial Bank of Canada is a rare and highly collectible example of the large-format banknotes once issued by chartered banks in Canada. New small-format notes were issued just one year later, resulting in a very short issuing and circulation time for this note, and a resulting significant rarity today. The note has been independently third-party certified by the Paper Money Guarantee Corporation (PMG) as Choice Very Fine 30. PMG is the largest and most widely recognized company providing independent third-party grading of banknotes.

Until the early 1940s, Canada's chartered banks were allowed to print their own banknotes, and most of these notes remain redeemable as legal tender today backed by the Bank of Canada. However, the majority of the old large-sized banknotes such as this one were destroyed and replaced when small-format issues were introduced by the Bank of Canada and the chartered banks in 1935.

The Imperial bank of Canada was established in 1873 in Toronto by a group of businessmen. In the 10 years following its opening, they had 10 branches opened including two in the west. In 1961, the Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank amalgamated to become the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).

• Front design: large oval portraits of the president and general manager of the bank, A. E. Phipps and F. A. Rolph
• Back design: lathework, counters, the bank name and a lion over a crown
• Charlton Catalogue reference: 375-20-02

Includes:
• 1933 $5 Imperial Bank of Canada, PMG Certified Choice Very Fine 30