The first of the new Series B notes to enter circulation was the Series B £5 note in 1976 after a design and development process which had begun three years previously. The issue of the Irish Series B banknotes was completed with the introduction of the £50 note on November 5th 1991, which is the actual date of issue on the note.
A design was done for a Series B £100 denomination, but it was not required by the Central Bank of Ireland, and cancelled at a late stage of development. The Series A £100 notes remained in circulation.
In December 1971 the Central Bank of Ireland announced its intention to introduce a new series of Legal Tender Notes. The new series, termed the Series B banknotes, or B Series, was to replace the Series A notes circulating since 1928, and was to be of a more modern design and format.
On 25 Aug 1972, The Central Bank of Ireland announced that the new design of Irish banknotes would enter circulation by late 1974 or early 1975.
The design of the new Series B notes were to be based on a single theme through the series, with each denomination representing a specific era.
The Series B notes would feature historical themes ranging from pre-Christian times to the twentieth century, with a unified design pattern running through all the denominations. The banknotes of Series B were to be, in the words of the Central Bank of Ireland design brief ‘Both outstanding examples of graphic design and have a specifically Irish motif’.
The new Irish banknotes were also to be a more accurate reflection of modern Ireland.
Applications for the contract to design the Series B notes were invited from professional artists and design teams.
Early in 1973 the The Central Bank of Ireland announced that after a ‘satisfactory response’ to the competition a design team, Servicon Planning and Design, had been granted the contract to design the new Series B Irish banknotes.
The Servicon team consisted of five people: sculptor Michael Biggs (1928–1993), artist Patrick Hickey (1927–1998), architects Brian Hogan (1928-2020) and Richard Hurley (1922–2011), and consulting engineer Sean Mulcahy (1928-2018).
The Series B banknotes have a specifically Irish historical flavour. The series is based on historic and cultural themes ranging from the pre-Christian era to the twentieth century, centering on Irish writers, philosophers and artists.
The design pattern which was developed and used on all the denominations of the Irish Series B notes centered around the portrait on the right of a historical figure, with a symbol in the centre relating to the portrait, and a signature beneath the symbol. The reverse of each banknote featured a visual element relating to the era of the figure on the face of each note.
Each denomination would bear the portrait of a famous historical person, which would probably include Jonathan Swift (who did appear on the Series B £10 note) and Granuaile. In the end, while Swift appeared on the Series B £5 note, the first denomination to be issued, Granuaile did not, having been assigned to the Series B £100 note which was not proceeded with.
The Irish philosopher John Scotus Eriugnia (ca828–878), is featured on the Series B £5 note, the first denomination to enter circulation.
On the Series B £1 note is a portrait of Queen Medb, legendary queen of Connaught from Irish literature of the 7th and 8th centuries.
Irish writers featured on the Series B banknotes were Jonathan Swift (1667–1745), on the Series B £10 note; and W.B. Yeats (1865–1939) who appears on the Series B £20 note.
A renowned Irish harpist and composer, Turolough O'Carolan (1670–1738) appears on the Series B £50 note.
The sense and flavour of the face of the new Series B notes was that of a celtic look, with all denominations being printed in Irish only on the face in support of this feel, strongly supported by the Central Bank of Ireland Governor, T. K. Whitaker, from the outset [CBIAR]. This lead to the Series B notes being refered to as the Irish Punt series.
The cornerstone of the celtic feel was the typeface used on the new Irish banknotes, designed by Michael Biggs back in 1953 as a modern type based on Unical [1.]. This typeface is also used on other works by Biggs located in Dublin, notably the memorials at Arbour Hill and the Garden of Remembrance.
In 1975 The Central Bank of Ireland announced that there would be delays in the introduction of the new Series B banknotes.
There were some delays in the design and development process of the Series B notes, especially with the £1 note and later with the the £50 note and the £100 note [CBIAR].
There were problems with the printing of the portrait of Queen Medb on the Series b £1 note in the density of the ink needed. [CBIAR] This lead to a delay of the development process and resulted in the Series B £5 note being the first denomination to be introduced of the new Irish banknotes.
The designs of the £50 and £100 Series B banknotes were worked on simultaneously. Both notes had changes in the design of the portraits, with the person depicted on the Series B £50 note being changed part way through the design process. The £100 note portrait was also altered altered radically.
The dates when each of the denominations of the Series B banknotes first entered circulation are listed below [CBI].
Series B £5 Scotus, 1 November 1976 — Average lifetime of a £5 note in circulation was just over one year.
Series B £1 Medb, 24 October 1977 — Average lifetime of a £1 note in circulation was 6 months.
Series B £10 Swift, 14 August 1978 — Average lifetime of a £10 note in circulation was 18 months.
Series B £20 Yeats, 4 February 1980 — Average lifetime of a £20 note in circulation was 2 and a half years.
Series B £50 O'Carolan, 1 November 1982.
Series B £100 Grainuaile, Development cancelled in 1987.
The Series B £1 note was withdrawn from circulation in June 1990, and replaced by a £1 coin.
Series B notes continued the established practice of each note bearing a date of issue which was paired with a specific prefix. This system of dating and prefixing had been used on the Lady Lavery Series A Irish banknotes since 1928.
The Series B notes use a complex numbering system, based on a prefix of three letters, composed from the first 12 letters of the alphabet.
Series B Replacement notes are identified by a prefix of three letters the same, as follows: One Pound notes - BBB, DDD, GGG; Five Pound notes - AAA, FFF; Ten Pound notes - CCC, HHH; Twenty Pound notes - EEE, LLL; Fifty Pound notes - KKK.
Specimen banknotes of Series B also carry a prefix of three letters the same with zeros in the serial number and date fields. Prefixes used on Series B specimens are generally that of the replacement notes then in use at the time of the generation of the specimen. However, Series B specimens have also been recorded of some denominations with a three letter prefix used on a different denomination.
All denominations of Series B banknotes bear a similar watermark in the unprinted area of the note, that of a female head which was adapted from the portrait of Lady Lavery, by Sir John Lavery, which was used on the old Series A Irish banknotes issued by the Currency Commission Ireland and Central Bank of Ireland.
From their first introduction, the Series B £20 and £50 notes incorporated an area in the centre of the face of each note which fluoresces under ultra violet light.
A similar fluorescent area was introduced on £5 and £10 notes around 1991. An area of ink which fluoresces under UV light was also introduced on the reverse of the Series B £1 note during the 1980s.
Central Bank of Ireland Series B Specimen notes
Series B notes View by Type - Five Types of Legal Tender Notes by signature and design variation.
Series B notes View by Denomination - An example of each denomination for every Type.
Series B notes View by Date - An image of every date for which an example has been seen of each denomination.
Dimensions are from measurements of actual Series B banknotes. Note: the dimensions tended to vary by a millimetre or so, depending on the cut.
Series B £1 Note, 148 x 78 mm;
Series B £5 Note, 156 x 82 mm;
Series B £10 Note, 164 x 86 mm;
Series B £20 Note, 172 x 90 mm;
Series B £50 Note, 180 x 94 mm.
Series B £100 Note, 188 x 98 mm.
Although the design of the Series B £100 note reached an advanced stage, the Series B £100 denomination was never issued and development was cancelled at an advanced stage. Images of the various stages of the Series B £100 note can be viewed on Series B 100 note design article.
References
1. Murphy, E., 'S.A.D.D. Protest Postcard', The Secret Lives of Objects, pp54-55.
The content of this page is based partly on research carried out at the Central Bank of Ireland Archives, Dublin on 24 May 2018.
A. Central Bank of Ireland Publication 'The Design of Irish Banknotes'. Referred to as CBI in the text.
B. Central Bank of Ireland Archives, Dublin. Referred to as CBIAR in the text. [Accessed 24 May 2018].
Specimen images of Series B Notes were loaned for scans by the Central Bank of Ireland.
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