irishpapermoney.com

Hi Mac,

Nice job on the 1918-1928 pre-partition all-Ireland issues.
I attach scans for two other signature variants on Ulster Bank £1 notes, Robert Russell and James Ussher.

Here are two attractive colour proofs for the £1 notes: a branchless general issue note from ca.1920 and a multi-branch note from ca.1883.

Here are examples of Ulster Bank proof £100 notes, showing an interesting transition from multi-branch to branchless general issue notes. The example from 1904 shows all the branches, the 1918 proof is a transitional design with the branches in the side panels replaced by ‘One Hundred’. The design was modified again in 1920 and was ultimately used as the basis for the 1929 Northern Ireland Issue.

The 1918 transitional proof is interesting. Always nice to see the construction proofs that show the evolution of a design.

Here is an early Ulster Bank £1 note which turned up recently at auction. It appears to have suffered fire damage. Amazingly, this is the second example observed for this date which could well be the first date of the Series. It is the earliest example I have seen for of an issued multi-branch note from any of the Irish Joint Stock banks. Despite the damage, the signature is clearly visible and appears to be that of James Heron, a director of the bank at that time.

This type of note appears to be a previously undocumented type having no outline ‘ONE’ and printed by Charles Skipper & East, London. The proof notes of 1857 are similar in design with 18 branches but were printed by Perkins Bacon & Co.

A pity about the grade! Even with the damage, it is still a presentable note, and remains redeemable at its face value!
The low serial number suggests that it is close to the start of its run, unless there was a run with just numbers and no prefix, which could have had an earlier date.

It is possible that there is an earlier date without prefix. We may never know for sure as PMI reports that many of the bank’s early records, including most of the note registers, were lost when the Head Office was destroyed in 1941 during World War II.

Here is the other known example of the 1st July 1852 date. This is signed by Thomas Ringland who appears to have occupied the role of Secretary of the Bank at the time this note was issued. An example of an 1857 proof £1 note is also shown for comparison.

Perkins Bacon & Co. also printed higher denomination proof notes, examples of the £5 and £10 notes attached. Higher denomination notes from the 1850's have not been observed to date in issued form.

A £20 proof note is also known dated 1st July 1857. This was the highest denomination produced at the time although no issued examples have been documented. It is interesting to see that the branch panels of the notes issued by Charles Skipper & East are much darker than those of the proof notes produced by Perkins Bacon & Co.

Nice one, I will add that £20 to the web site!

Here is a later multi-branch £1 note issued in 1861 with prefix G and most likely a continuation of the Issue introduced in 1852 starting with prefix A. This note has a modified design with an outline 'ONE' over the central panel. Curiously, ‘BELFAST’ is missing from the lower border.

The note is signed by Robert Grimshaw, one of the founding directors. He was a key figure in the early history of the Ulster Bank.

In 1862, Ulster Bank opened an office in Dublin. From 1862, the notes were modified to include Belfast and Dublin in the lower border. Here is an image of a £1 note that appeared on the web some time ago, dated 1st November 1878. The note is signed by A.J. Mulligan. An interesting feature is the red serials. It seems that there is an earlier variant of this type with black serial numbers but no images are available.