The Central Bank of Ireland Archive, opened to public access in 2017, has provided new source material on the designs of the Irish Series B banknotes. Some content in article draws on information from the archive. This is referenced as CBIAR in the text.
The design theme of Yeats £20 note is the twentieth century revival of literature and arts in Ireland in both the Irish and English languages. The overall theme of Series B banknotes is that of Irish Writers, Philosophers and Artists.
The Irish Series B banknotes are also referred to as the 'Celtic Design Series'. This is due in part to the design of the One Pound and Five Pound denominations which had a significantly early Celtic feel to them.
Launched at Central Bank of Ireland Currency Centre in Sandyford, Co. Dublin on 30 January, 1980, the Series B £20 note entered circulation on the following Monday, 4 February, 1980, just one month after its first date of issue 7 January 1980.
It was the fourth denomination of the Central Bank of Ireland Series B banknotes to enter circulation.
Primarily blue in colour, the 20 pound note is offset printed in six colours on the face and four colours on the reverse, with three intaglio printings on both sides [CBIAR].
The watermark in the unprinted area of the note is an adaptation of the portrait of Lady Lavery, used as the portrait in the Series A Legal Tender Notes, in use from 1928 to 1977.
In 1953 one of the designers in the Servicon team, Michael Biggs, had designed a modern typeface which he based on Unical - this face was used on the Turlough O’Carolan 50 pound note as well as on all the other Series B banknotes.
On the face, is the text in Irish 'Banc Ceannais na h-Éireann' (Central Bank of Ireland) 'Nóta dlíthairgthe fiche punt' (Legal tender note twenty pounds). Below the signatures are the titles of the signatories in Irish: 'an gobharnóir' (governor) and 'rúnaí na roinne airgeadais' (secretary of the department of finance).
On the reverse of the banknote is the text in English, 'Central Bank of Ireland', '£20', 'Legal Tender' below the watermark field.
The design detail on the £20 in figures on the face of the Yeats 20 pound note reflects the arts.
On the reverse the design detail on the denomination in numerals is a reflection of the fisheries off the Blasket Islands and the atlantic waters of the coast of southern Ireland. The £20 note is the only banknote in the series, apart from the £100 note with its images of wild geese, to feature such imagery within the denomination numerals.
The denomination in numerals on the face of the Yeats £20 note
Atlantic fisheries populate the denomination in numerals on the reverse of the £20 note
On the right is a prominent portrait of William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) [2.].
In the centre of the face of the Yeats 20 Pound note is the symbol of the note. It is based on the Abbey Theatre [3.] Emblem of the legendary Queen Medb of Connaught hunting in the hills with her Irish wolfhound, designed by Elinor Monsel (1875-1953) [4.]. The image of Queen Medb and her wolfhound face to the left on the Yeats 20 pound note, the opposite direction to that in the Abbey Theatre emblem where the are facing right.
Yeats was one of the founders of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin as a National theatre for Ireland in 1904. The Abbey Theatre played an important role in the Irish arts.
The background of the note is an excerpt from Yeats' 'Deirdre' manuscript [5.], in which Yeats explores an important story from Irish literature, with themes of love, honor, deceit and self-sacrifice.
The Symbol in the centre of the Yeats Twenty Pound note, Queen Medb, legendary queen of Connaught, hunting in the hills of Ireland with her Irish wolfhound. From a wood carving by Elinor Monsel, executed as a symbol for the Abbey Theatre, Dublin
A dye proof of the face of the Yeats 20 Pound note, partially printed without the underprint present [6. DNW, 2018 Lot 312]
On the reverse is a map of the Blasket Islands [7.] off the coast of Dingle, Co. Kerry, Ireland. The map is labelled in the Irish language.
In the background is an excerpt from an early edition of 'An tOileánach' (The Islandman), by Tomás Ó Criomhthain [8.], published in 1929, about life on the Great Blasket Island, the largest island of the group. Ó Criomhthain lived all his life on the island.
The individual islands of the Blasket Island group are named in Irish on the map in 'Irish' script. The spelling is also in the older pre-1950s format:
Oileán na n-óg (Island of the young)
Carraig fhada (Long rock)
Oileán buidhe (Yellow Island)
Beig Inis (Small island)
Inis Tuaiscirt (North Island)
An Blascaod Mór (Great Blasket)
Below, two different Series B 20 pound note print errors illustrate some of the stages of printing on the reverse of the note.
A Yeats 20 pound note reverse printing error with missing underprint shows the blue and black printinge on the banknote
This error Yeats 20 pound note is missing the top printing, and illustrates the multicoloured underprint, showing the printing knockout left for the islands
The Yeats Twenty Pound note was a complete design change from the 'Lady Lavery' Twenty Pound note which it replaced. The Series A 'Lavery' design banknotes which had been in circulation since September 1928.
The Series B £20 notes were a considerably smaller size than the Series A £20 notes they replaced. Dimensions of Irish banknotes tended to vary by a millimetre or so overall. The dimensions listed are from measurements of actual notes.
Series A, Lady Lavery 20 Pound Note, 203 x 114 mm.
Series B, W. B. Yeats 20 Pound Note, 172 x 90 mm.
Illustrated is the final date of the Series A £20 notes, and the first date of Series B £20 notes.
Series B banknotes are known sometimes as the 'Irish Punt series' due to the prominence of Irish language on the face
The Yeats '20 Punt' became increasingly common in circulation in the late 1980s.
£20 notes were distributed through the ATM network, and examples of the note are easy to obtain up to AU grade. Examples in strict UNC grade with all four corners still sharp (grade 67 with quality mark or higher) are scarce, and much more difficult to obtain.
Metallic Thread: A metallic security thread is embedded in the paper slightly to the right of center when the note is viewed from the face side. This was a standard security feature used in banknotes of the time.
The centre section of the face and reverse of the Yeats twenty pound note flouresces under UV light.
This feature is present in all issued notes of the Series B 20 Pound denomination from the first date onwards.
The Yeats 20 pound note was the fourth denomination of Series B banknotes to enter circulation and it remained in use for 12 years. In 1992 the £20 note was the first denomination to be withdrawn from circulation and to be replaced with the new design Series C £20 note, which entered circulation on 6 November 1992.
A significant quantity of well produced forgeries of the Yeats 20 were appearing by the late 1980s, and this may have influenced the decision to replace the £20 denomination first with a new more modern issue bearing stronger security features.
E148. Type 17: Signatures: C. H. Murray, Tomás F. Ó Cofaigh. 4 Dates, 3 replacements, EEE. 07.01.80–20.10.81.
E149. Type 18: Signatures: Tomás F. Ó Cofaigh, Maurice Doyle. 6 Dates, 4 replacements, EEE. 11.07.83-28.08.86.
E150. Type 19: Signatures: Maurice Doyle, S. P. Cromien. 15 Dates, 5 replacements, EEE, LLL. 12.08.87-14.02.92.
Ireland, Swift Ten Pounds. Murray, Ó Cofaigh signatures, 1980 - 1981
Ireland, Yeats 20 Pound note. Ó Cofaigh, Doyle signatures, 1983 - 1986
Ireland, Yeats 20 Pounds. Doyle, Cromien signatures, 1987 - 1992
There are 25 dates of issue for the Series B Yeats £20 note. The first date issued was 07.01.80, and the final date was 14.02.92.
Yeats 20 pound notes are common. There are no scarce dates, and it is quite feasible to collect all the dates of issue in circulated condition. An image of each of the 25 dates of issue can be viewed on the Series B Twenty Pound Note Dates page.
Many dates of the Yeats £20 note were printed as replacement notes with EEE prefix, and two dates were printed with LLL prefix.
LLL prefix notes are much scarcer than those of EEE prefix, and there are no recorded examples of LLL in UNC.
References [Last retrieved 04.08.24]
1. Central Bank of Ireland Archives, Dublin. Referred to as CBIAR in the text. [Accessed 24 May 2018].
2. William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) <https://www.dib.ie/biography/yeats-william-butler-a9160>
3. Abbey theatre, Dublin. <https://www.abbeytheatre.ie/about/history/>
https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000516957
4. Elinor Monsel (1875-1953). <https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000516957>
<https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000268308>
5. Yeats' 'Deirdre'. <https://www.poetryexplorer.net/poem.php?id=10103084>
6. DNW Auction, British, Irish and World Banknotes, 1 & 2 October 2018, Lot 312.
7. Blasket Islands. <https://dingle-peninsula.ie/explore/the-blasket-islands.html>
8. Tomás Ó Criomhthain. <https://www.dib.ie/biography/o-criomhthain-tomas-a6317>
Background Reading
1. The Great Blasket. <https://www.blasket.ie/udair-an-oileain/>
2. The Abbey Theatre website. <https://www.abbeytheatre.ie/about/history/>
1 Pound Ploughman
5 Pounds Ploughman
10 Pounds Ploughman
20 Pounds Ploughman
50 Pounds Ploughman
100 Pounds Ploughman
Irish Ten Shilling Notes
1 Pound Note Lady Lavery
5 Pounds Lady Lavery
10 Pounds Lady Lavery
20 Pounds Lady Lavery
50 Pounds Lady Lavery
100 Pounds Lady Lavery
1 Pound Note, Queen Medb
5 Pound Note, John Scotus Eriugena
10 Pound Note, Jonathan Swift
20 Pound Note, W. B. Yeats
50 Pound Note, Turlough O'Carolan
100 Pound Note, Grace O'Malley
5 Pound Note, Sister Catherine McAuley
10 Pound Note, James Joyce
20 Pound Note, Daniel O'Connell
50 Pound Note, Douglas Hyde
100 Pound Note, Charles Stewart Parnell
Special Sections and Articles
The Transition of Irish Currency, Irish banknotes 1918–1928
The Partition of Irish Currency, Irish banknotes 1928–1930
Banknote Design Evolution 1824 to 1916
Irish Three Pound Notes
Contemporary Forgeries of Early Irish Banknotes, ca1800-1930
Limerick Soviet Notes
Irish World War 2 Banknote Issues
Low Number Irish Banknotes
Irish Joint Stock Banks of Note Issue from 1783
Irish Legal Tender Note Specimens
Ploughman Scan Survey (PSS)
Stable version. Updates scheduled. Last update 24.09.20.
