This is an original First Mortgage Four Percent Gold Bond issued in 1890 by the Shore Line Railway Company, operating in the Province of New Brunswick, Dominion of Canada. It has a face value of £100 sterling, with interest payable semi-annually and principal due in May 1915. The bond is numbered 490, and is hand-signed by company officials, with a clear embossed corporate seal at the lower left.

Printed by the American Bank Note Company, New York, the bond features an ornate brown border, a detailed central vignette of a steam locomotive at a country station, and decorative elements including a female allegorical portrait and railway-themed flourishes. The denomination “£100” is underprinted in large gold script across the center.

A sheet of 30 interest coupons is included, numbered and dated from May 1896 through May 1910, each with a face value of £2.

The Shore Line Railway Company was part of Canada’s expanding late-19th-century regional rail network, serving as a connector within the Maritimes. Bonds denominated in pounds sterling were typical of Canadian railroads seeking capital from British investors, who were key to financing national infrastructure during this period.

The reverse of the bond includes a printed registration panel and decorative title layout. A well-preserved and highly detailed example of Canadian railway finance from the Victorian era.

It measures about 10" x 14.5".  It shows some rust by the staples up top, but is otherwise generally clean.