Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

has a history of trading its own

banknote A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commerc ...

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

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Currently, various commercial banks in Northern Ireland locally issue notes (or Bank of England notes) of the

Pound sterling Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...

, while the

Central Bank of Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland () is the national central bank for Ireland within the Eurosystem. It was the Irish central bank from 1943 to 1998, issuing the Irish pound. It is also the country's main financial regulatory authority, and since 2 ...

, in the Republic of Ireland, issues local

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 ...

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 six partners or less by an act of Parliament 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 () 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 Irish banking history. At ...

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 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 circulation unti ...

s or

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

, 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 (37 Geo. 3. c. 45) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which removed the requirement for the Bank of England to convert banknotes into gold. The period lasted until 1821, when convertibil ...

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 (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...

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 is one of the traditional Big Four Irish clearing banks. The Ulster Bank Group was subdivided into two separate legal entities: National Westminster Bank Plc, trading as Ulster Bank (registered in England and Wales and operating i ...

. 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 () was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK) divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland (the area today known as the R ...

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

Currency Commission The Currency Commission (''Coimisiún an 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 advis ...

the sole authority to print and circulate legal tender in the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

. This resulted in notes issued directly by the Commission and also by the eight shareholding banks. From 1943 to 2001, the

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

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 The Belfast Banking Company was a bank in Northern Ireland. It was established in 1827 by a merger of Batt's (also known as The Belfast Bank) and Tennant's (The Commercial Bank). The Belfast Banking Company operated primarily in Ulster and sold ...

, National Bank,

Northern Bank Northern Bank Limited, trading as Danske Bank, is a retail bank in Northern Ireland. Northern Banking Company Limited was formed from a private bank, with the Deed of Partnership being signed on 1 August 1824. It is one of the oldest banks in ...

, Provincial Bank of Ireland and

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

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, 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 custome ...

, 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 Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

. 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