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| January 2nd 1920 Government of Newfoundland $2 Bill |
1920 Government of Newfoundland $2 Dollar Bill
Obverse: These are very popular bank notes. Each of these bank notes from Newfoundland shows a caribou head and a mining vignette.
Reverse: The Great Seal of Newfoundland at center, Steam Frigate in a stormy sea at left, Anchor against rocks at right.
Signature Keating and Brownrigg.
Printer American Bank Note Company, Ottawa.
Quantity Issued: 300,000
Text: The Government of Newfoundland – Will Pay To Bearer On Demand – St. John’s NFLD. – Jany 2nd 1920 – Two Dollars – Countersigned – Minister of Finance and Customers – American Bank Note Co. Ottawa.
Varieties: These can be signed by Bursell and Brownrigg, Hickey and Brownrigg, Keating and Brownrigg, or Renouf and Brownrigg.
Newfoundland Banknotes
Great Seal of Newfoundland
Great seals identify and authenticate documents issued by governments and monarchs. They are applied to paper by wax or by embossing, both of which create a raised image of the seal on the document. After 1904, the Great Seal also appeared on Newfoundland’s red and blue ensigns, and on the official flag of the governor.
The earliest documented Great Seal of Newfoundland received royal approval from King George IV on 1 September 1827. It depicts Mercury, the classical god of commerce and merchandise, presenting to Britannia a fisherman who, kneeling, offers her his catch. Below are the Latin words “Haec Tibi Dona Fero” (“These gifts I bring thee”) and written around the circumference of the seal is “Sigillum Terrae Novae Insulae” – “Seal of the Island of Terra Nova”.
In 1837, when Queen Victoria took the throne, she approved a new seal for Newfoundland. Britannia, Mercury and the Newfoundland fisherman occupy the bottom two thirds and are contained within an elaborate frame. Above sit the royal arms, with a lion and unicorn on either side. Written around the top edge of the circular seal are the words “Victoria Dei Gratia Britanniae Reg F D” (Victoria, by the grace of God, Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith), and the bottom edge reads “Sigillum Terrae Novae Insulae” (Seal of the Island of Terra Nova).
This basic design remained in place until well after Confederation. The only changes were the style of the frame and the scroll around the edge (usually to incorporate the name of the current monarch).
On 3 July 1963, Newfoundland adopted a new Great Seal. The fisherman kneeling before Britannia, a colonial image, was replaced by the coat of arms, with “Newfoundland” written near the bottom curve on a scroll. Encircling the top are the words “Elizabeth II D.G. Canadae Regina” (Elizabeth by the grace of God, Queen of Canada).
The Anchor is the Victorian symbol for Hope
The anchor is seen as a symbol of a well-grounded hope. As the anchor was often a seaman’s last resort in stormy weather, it was frequently connected with hope. Being made of a solid body, the anchor was also identified with firmness, solidity, tranquility and faithfulness. The anchor remains firm and steady amidst the stormy waters, symbolizing the stable part of a human being, that quality which enables us to keep a clear mind amid the confusion of sensation, emotion and the general “storms” of life. Therefore the anchor keeps us steady in the storms of temptation, affliction, and persecution.