4 Dollars Commercial Bank of Newfoundland; Overstamped 20 Dollars

History of the overprint:

Newfoundland at the time, had two primary banks, the Union- and Commercial Bank as their main currency provider, and an economy based mostly on fishing and mining. In the 1894 with a combination of the building of the railroad and fishing running dry and mining failing to increase production, the bank had overdrawn their laons. This rumor spread quickly and people got nervouse about their money in the bank. This lead to a bankrun, where they couldnt get their money, since there weren't enough coins to go around.

Both banks being unable to pay people their money back, permanently closed on December 10, 1894. The effects were immediate with businesses failing, workers losing their jobs and the price of food and other essentials rising. The entire colony was close to bankruptcy and the government suspendet all payments in “specie”, meaning cash in the form of coins.

Other regional banks, came to the rescue, to buy out the two failed banks and redeem the banknotes at ahuge discount. 2 Dollars were suddenly worth only 40 Cents, which means the cash which stayed in circulation lost their value to 1/5 of their original value.

People who had had faith in the banks with their money, lost almost everything.