The Bank of Ireland £20 note is a

sterling Sterling may refer to: Common meanings * Sterling silver, a grade of silver * Sterling (currency), the currency of the United Kingdom ** Pound sterling, the primary unit of that currency Places United Kingdom * Stirling, a Scottish city w ...

banknote. It is the third largest of five denominations of banknote issued by 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 ...

History

The

began issuing notes in 1783, the same year as the bank's founding. Early banknotes were denominations of the

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 ...

, but following that currency's abolition in 1826 banknotes produced by the Bank of Ireland were denominated in pounds sterling. These early banknotes were printed by the bank in Dublin, and featured a design with a row of

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

heads across the top. This basic design remained effectively unchanged for 120 years. Northern Irish banknotes are fully backed such that holders have the same level of protection as those holding genuine Bank of England notes. The £20 note is currently the third largest of five denominations of banknote issued by the Bank of Ireland. The £20 note of the Queen's University Belfast Series was first issued in 2007. This issue features a representation of Hibernia on the front, alongside shields of arms of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The back of this note displays an image of

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

. In 2008 a new series featuring the image of the Old Bushmills Distillery on the reverse was introduced. Apart from this change of rear design the difference between this note and the preceding series is minimal. The design of the £20 note was tweaked in 2013, with slight changes of the front design taking place. The 2013 note also features an image of the Bushmills Distillery on the reverse.

Designs

Information taken from Bank of Ireland website.

References

External links

Bank of Ireland BanknotesThe Association of Commercial Banknote Issuers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bank of Ireland 20 note Banknotes of Northern Ireland Twenty-base-unit banknotes