The Archive of the Central Bank of Ireland was opened to the public in 2017. It has provided new source material on the design of Irish. Some of the content of this article draws on information from the archive. This is referenced as CBIAR in the text.
The Central Bank of Ireland Series C banknotes were the last Series of Irish Legal Tender Notes to circulate before the introduction of the Euro in 2002.
The Joyce Ten Pound note entered circulation on 17 September 1993, two months after its first date of issue, 14 July 1993. It was the second denomination of the Series C banknotes to enter circulation.
The Series C James Joyce 10 pound note was designed by Irish artist Robet Ballage [2.].
The £10 note theme is the literary heritage that grew out of modern Dublin as personified in the works of James Joyce, one of Ireland's greatest modern writers.
All the text on the face of the note is in Irish. 'Banc Ceannais na h-Éireann' (Central Bank of Ireland) 'Nóta dlíthairgthe deich bpunt' (Legal tender note ten pounds). Below the watermark field are the signatures and the titles of the signatories: 'an gobharnóir' (governor) and 'rúnaí na roinne airgeadais' (secretary of the department of finance).
Portrait of James Joyce (1882-1941) [3.] from an original by Robert Ballagh.
In the background is a view of Dublin City and areas of counties Dublin and Wicklow, from a drawing by T. R. Harvey in the 19th century. [4.]
The latent image security feature, which shows the letters 'IR' when tilted to the light is printed as a blue hexagonal roundrel on the bottom left of the face of the note. Microprinting of the text 'BANCCEANNAISNAHEIREANN' repeated surrounds this security feature.
The centrepiece of the reverse of the note is a 'river mask' representing the river Liffey, one of the 14 such heads by sculptor Edward Smyth (1749-1812) [5.] which adorns the Custom House in Dublin.
Along with the river mask, the opening lines of Joyce's Finnegan's Wake [6.] is overlaid on part of a map of Dublin from the 19th century.
In the background is a map of Dublin based on a nineteenth century map of the city centre.
The James Joyce Irish 10 Pound note was complete design change from the old 'Lady Lavery' 10 Pound note which it replaced.
The colour was changed from being predominantly purple on the Series B note to a strong green.
The Series C Joyce 10 notes were much smaller in size than the banknotes they replaced. Dimensions below are from measurements of actual notes.
Series B, Swift Ten Pound Note, 164 x 86 mm.
Series C, Joyce Ten Pound Note, 128 x 68 mm.
Illustrated is the last date of Series C Joyce £10 notes, 02.07.99.
The Series C banknotes were known as the 'Irish Punt series', probably a reflection of being printed entirely in Irish on the face side of each denomination. The Joyce 'Ten Punt' was a common denomination which was distributed in large quantities through ATM machines. Examples of the note are easy to obtain in AU grade. The last date, 02.07.99, is common in UNC grade.
Earlier dates of the Joyce 10 Pound note in true UNC grade, with four sharp corners (Grade 67 with quality mark, or higher), are less common.
Face, primarily green, with some blue and orange underprint. Serial numbers are in red and black ink. All notes bear a date of issue in black ink. Each date corresponds to a specific group of prefixes.
Reverse colouring is predominantly green.
Below an image of a Joyce 10 pound note with a reverse print error which nicely displays the green underprint of the map of Dublin. The print layers of the Liffey river mask and the text are completely missing.
A metallic security thread is embedded in the paper to the right of center which can easily be viewed when the note is held up to the light. This metallic thread was a standard security feature used in all of the Irish Series B banknotes.
Certain areas of the Series B £10 note fluoresce under UV light. The intensity of the fluorescence varies randomly throughout the years of the issue.
UV activity is prominent on both sides of the ten pound note.
The Joyce 10 Pound note was the second denomination of Series C banknotes to be released. The note circulated for 9 years. The £10 note was withdrawn from circulation on 1 January 2002, when Ireland introduced the Euro as its currency.
E156. Type 20: Signatures: Maurice Doyle, S. P. Cromien. 5 Dates, 3 replacements, JJJ. 14.07.93–27.04.94.
E157. Type 21: Signatures: Muiris S. Ó Conaill, P. Mullarkey. 8 Dates, 4 replacements, JJJ. 25.02.83-09.02.87.
E158. Type 22: Signatures: Muiris S. Ó Conaill, P. Mullarkey. Prefixing system altered. 7 Dates, 2 replacements, NNN. 04.12.97-02.07.99.
Central Bank of Ireland, 10 Pounds. Doyle, Cromien signatures, 1993-1994
Joyce, Central Bank of Ireland 10 Pound note. Ó Conaill, Mullarkey signatures, 1995-1999
There were 20 dates of issue for the Series C Joyce £10 note. The first date was 14.07.93, and the final date was 02.07.99.
The Joyce ten pound notes are common and it is easy to collect all the dates of issue in circulated condition. An image of each of the 20 dates is on the Series C Ten Pound Note Dates page.
Joyce £10 notes were printed as replacement notes with two prefixes.
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. Robert Ballagh. <http://www.robertballagh.com>
3. James Joyce. <https://www.dib.ie/index.php/biography/joyce-james-augustine-aloysius-a4359>
4. View of Dublin and Wicklow by T. R. Harvey, ca1850. < https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=495632897210776&id=302030953237639&set=a.501745386599527 >
5. Edward Smyth. <https://www.dib.ie/biography/smyth-edward-a8171>
6. Joyce's Finnegan's Wake <https://lithub.com/finnegans-wake-at-80-in-defense-of-the-difficult/>
<https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/endlessly-exciting-in-its-impenetrability-1939-james-joyce-review-1.2495264>
<https://www.jstor.org/stable/3195194>
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)
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