Provincial Bank, Five Series: Series A 1825 - Series B 1871 - Series C 1918 - Series D 1919 - Series E 1920
Series F, continuing, Northern Ireland Issue, commencing 1929
1825
The 1824 Act allowed the creation of Joint Stock banks of note issue in Ireland with the right to issue notes outside of a 50 mile radius of Dublin, with Bank of Ireland retaining a monopoly on note issue within that radius. Prior to this the only joint stock bank in Ireland had been the Bank of Ireland, which had been established as a private joint stock bank by Royal Charter in 1783 and had sole right of note issue for a bank with greater than 6 partners.
Founded by Thomas Joplin and others in London in 1825 with 689 shareholders, the Provincial Bank of Ireland opened its first branch in Cork on 1 September 1825. Its primary aim was to introduce English capital into Ireland outside of the Dublin area.
The Provincial Bank of Irelnd was organised along the lines of the Scottish banks of the day, and imported Scottish expertise. The bank initially employed La Touche, a private bank, as its agency in Dublin. It opened an office at 60 South William St., Dublin in 1836 where it redeemed its banknotes, but did not issue or re-issue them, in accordance with the law.
The Provincial Bank commenced its initial note issue in 1825. It issued a full range of denominations, 25 Shillings, 30 Shillings, £1, £2, £3, £4, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100. Of these, no £50 or £100 notes have been recorded except in proof form, or as half notes. Cut cancelled notes of all eras are common. Proof notes are also common.
Issued uncancelled notes of the following denominations are known: £1, £5, £10, as well as a few examples of £3 notes, and one £2 note and one example of a £20 note. Issued uncancelled notes dated prior to 1900 are quite rare.
Small size notes with branches were issued in 1919. These notes are quite rare.
From 1920 onwards branches were removed from banknotes. Small size £1 notes were issued in quantity. These are quite scarce as issued notes, and very common as punch-cancelled unissued remainder notes.
A proof of a small size £5 note dated 1920 has been seen, as well as a proof of a large size £50 note dated 1920. Large quantities of £5 punch-cancelled unissued remainder notes are known
It issued Consolidated Banknotes in 1929, as well as its own Northern Ireland issue.
In 1966 The Provincial Bank of Ireland merged with The Munster and Leinster Bank and The Royal Bank of Ireland to form Allied Irish Banks. The new bank group retained the Provincial Bank identity in Northern Ireland and continued to issue banknotes there as the Provincial Bank of Ireland until 1981 when it issued banknotes under the title of Allied Irish Banks.
It changed its title to First Trust Bank in 1994, and still continued to issue its own notes in Northern Ireland under that title until its decision to cease note issue on 30 June 2022.
Irish Joint Stock Banks of Note Issue from 1783
Contemporary Forgeries of Early Irish Banknotes ca1800-1930
Irish Three Pound Notes of the Joint Stock Banks
The Transition of Irish Currency, Irish banknotes 1918–1928
The Partition of Irish currency, Irish banknotes 1928–1930
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