IRE-Gibbons_&_Williams_Bankers_(Dublin)-5_Pounds_(1833)

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

has issued its own trading

banknote A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes w ...

s for several centuries, both when the whole of Ireland was one legal entity, and following

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

of the island into the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Notes have been issued by individual banks and by state agencies of the Republic of Ireland and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

First Irish pound

Currency notes first appeared in Ireland the late 1600s when merchants began to issue paper notes for purchases which they promised to redeem at a later stage. These notes began to change hands prior to redemption, becoming the first paper to circulate as currency notes in Ireland. Some of these merchants went on to become bankers and issued paper currency in the form of banknotes and post bills as a service. These became the Irish private banks which issued the banknotes in use throughout Ireland for over 100 years. The most famous of these is the House of La Touche. Irish private banks issued a wide variety of denominations in guineas, pence, shillings, and pounds. Their notes tended to correspond to coin denominations, and are known to range up to £100. Many banks issued only small notes, those with a face value below £5. Private banks were small partnerships, and were limited to 6 partners or less by an act of 1756. Some of the private banks were very successful and their banknotes were reliable instruments. However, because of their nature as small organisations, many of the private banks failed, with their banknotes becoming worth a fraction of their face value. The weakness of the paper currency in Ireland lead to pressure for the creation of a ‘National Bank’ to provide a stable currency. Eventually, the Bank of Ireland was created to fill this need. The

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Iris ...

was the first joint stock bank to produce notes intended for use throughout Ireland; its first issue was in 1783. Early notes were denominated either in

Irish pound The pound (Irish: ) was the currency of the Republic of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the symbol was £ (or IR£ for distinction). The Irish pound was replaced by the euro on 1 January 1999. Euro currency did not begin cir ...

s or

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

, with 1 guinea equal to 1 pound 2 shillings 9 pence Irish. The suspension of cash payments by the

Bank Restriction Act 1797 The Bank Restriction Act 1797 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (37 Geo. III. c. 45) which removed the requirement for the Bank of England to convert banknotes into gold. The period lasted until 1821, when convertibility was restored. ...

lead to an increase in the usage of banknotes in Ireland, and the notes of many of the private banks became payable in Bank of Ireland notes, which was stated on each banknote often worded as ‘National Bank Paper’. The Bank of Ireland also began to issue small notes pound and guinea denominations in place of gold. The highest denomination banknote that has been recorded for an Irish bank is a £500 note issued by the Bank of Ireland dated in 1869.

Pound sterling

In 1826, the Irish pound was replaced by the

pound sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...

and later Irish banknotes were issued denominated in sterling. Banks issuing notes during this period were the

, the Belfast Banking Company, the National Bank, the Northern Banking Company, the Provincial Bank of Ireland and the

Ulster Bank Ulster Bank ( ga, Banc Uladh) is a large retail bank, and one of the traditional Big Four Irish clearing banks. The Ulster Bank Group is subdivided into two separate legal entities: National Westminster Bank, trading as Ulster Bank (registere ...

. From 1824 banking regulation in Ireland was changed to allow for the formation of joint stock banks with branch networks. This resulted in the foundation of several large joint stock banks which started to issue banknotes in Ireland. The notes of these banks quickly replaced those of the Irish private banks in circulation. By 1836, six banks were issuing notes in Ireland. The following denominations are known for each bank up to 1844: Agricultural and Commercial Bank of Ireland (Founded 1834): £1, 35 Shillings, £3, £5, £10. Bank of Ireland (Founded 1783): 30 Shillings, £1, £3, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100, £200, £500. Others likely Belfast Banking Company (Founded 1827): 25 Shillings. Others likely. National Bank of Ireland (Founded 1835): 30 Shillings, £1, £3, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100. Northern Banking Company (Founded 1824): £1, 25 Shillings, 30 Shillings. Others likely. Provincial Bank of Ireland (Founded 1825): £1, 25 Shillings, 30 Shillings, £2, £3, £4, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100. Ulster Banking Company (Founded 1836): £1, 25 Shillings, 30 Shillings, 35 Shillings, £3, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100. In addition, the Bank of Ireland issued notes denominated in One Guinea and One Guinea and a Half up until around 1819, as evidenced by images of surviving examples, the latest known of which is dated 4 Jan 1819. An early proof One Guinea note is known for Northern Banking Company, ca1824. The Agricultural and Commercial Bank of Ireland failed in 1840. After 1845 fractional denominations were prohibited, and the denominations issued by the banks settled on the following up to 1920: Bank of Ireland: £1, £3, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100, £500. Belfast Banking Company: : £1, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100. National Bank of Ireland: £1, £3, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100. Northern Banking Company: £1, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100. Provincial Bank of Ireland: £1, £3, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100. Ulster Banking Company: £1, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100.

Irish Free State and Republic of Ireland

Initially the

partition of Ireland The partition of Ireland ( ga, críochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. I ...

did not have any direct impact on currency; however, the Currency Act of 1927 gave the

Currency Commission The Currency Commission (''Coimisiún Airgid Reatha''), was created by thas part of the policy of the Irish Free State to create the 'Saorstát pound'. The Currency Commission commissioned the Series A Banknotes, through the advice of an advisory ...

the sole authority to print and circulate legal tender in the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

.https://www.irishpapermoney.com/history-of-irish-papermoney-issues.html This resulted in notes issued directly by the Commission and also by the eight shareholding banks. From 1943 to 2001, the

Central Bank of Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland ( ga, Banc Ceannais na hÉireann) is Ireland's central bank, and as such part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). It is the country's financial services regulator for most categories of financial firms ...

took over this role, until the introduction of the euro. Currently

euro banknotes Banknotes of the euro, the common currency of the Eurozone (euro area members), have been in circulation since the first series (also called ''ES1'') was issued in 2002. They are issued by the national central banks of the Eurosystem or the Eur ...

circulate in the Republic as legal tender.

Northern Ireland

In 1929, six banks began issuing sterling notes for circulation in

. These were

, Belfast Banking Company,

National Bank In banking, the term national bank carries several meanings: * a bank owned by the state * an ordinary private bank which operates nationally (as opposed to regionally or locally or even internationally) * in the United States, an ordinary p ...

Northern Bank Northern Bank Limited T/A Danske Bank is a retail bank in Northern Ireland. Northern Bank is one of the oldest banks in Ireland having been formed in 1809, and forms part of one of the Big Four banks in Ireland. Northern Bank took on the name ...

Provincial Bank of Ireland Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. is one of the so-called Big Four commercial banks in Ireland. AIB offers a full range of personal, business and corporate banking services. The bank also offers a range of general insurance products such as home, trav ...

and

. Today, four banks retain the right to issue banknotes in Northern Ireland, based at

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, two of which are Irish owned, one Scottish owned and one Danish owned. These banks are Bank of Ireland (NI), Northern Bank trading as

Danske Bank Danske Bank A/S is a Danish multinational banking and financial services corporation. Headquartered in Copenhagen, it is the largest bank in Denmark and a major retail bank in the northern European region with over 5 million retail customers. ...

, First Trust Bank, and Ulster Bank. Their notes are backed by deposits at the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

. First Trust or AIB as they are now known will cease their banknote issue in 2022.

References

External links

Irish paper money
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banknotes Of Ireland Economic history of Ireland fr:Billets d'Irlande nl:Bankbiljetten van Ierland be:Банкноты Ірландыі