Ffrench's Bank, Dublin • 1807–1814

Banknotes issued by Irish Private Banks ca1700–ca1833
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Ffrench's Bank, Dublin • 1807–1814

Post by Mac »

The notes of Ffrenchs Bank are among the more common of the Private banks' notes, and they turn up frequently.

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Ffrenchs Bank 1 Pound 1813

More info to follow.
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin. 1812–1814

Post by DOC »

Two variants of the 1 Guinea note are known with different designs and partnership listings. Images attached. I have not seen the later type for the £1 notes.

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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

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Below is a Post Bill for Four Pounds.

Ffernch's Bank Post Bill for £4, 1814
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

Post by Mac »

A Three Pound note from Ffrench's Dublin bank.

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Ffrenchs Three Pounds 1814
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

Post by DOC »

Here is a 25 shillings note of the second design type, dated 10th February 1814.
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Ffrench's Bank Dublin 25 Shillings 10th Feb. 1814.jpg
Ffrench's Bank Dublin 25 Shillings 10th Feb. 1814.jpg (79.44 KiB) Viewed 17172 times
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

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Two designs have also been observed for Ffrench's Bank Dublin 30 Shillings notes, examples attached. The later design has a vignette of a female figure, probably Cerus, Roman Goddess of the Harvest.
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Ffrenchs Bank Dublin  30 Shillings  3rd Nov. 1813.jpg
Ffrenchs Bank Dublin 30 Shillings 3rd Nov. 1813.jpg (92.53 KiB) Viewed 17107 times
Ffrench's Bank Dublin 30 Shillings 20th April 1814.jpg
Ffrench's Bank Dublin 30 Shillings 20th April 1814.jpg (79.63 KiB) Viewed 17107 times
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

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I have noticed a third type for the Ffrench’s Bank Dublin 30 Shilling notes. This has the vignette of a female figure and the Hon. Martin Ffrench no longer listed as partner. This type is also associated with a change of address for the Bank (now No.13).

In 1814 the Post Office renumbered the Ormond Quay addresses and No.12 became No. 13. The address change transpired to be an unlucky one. On June 27th, the bank stopped payment and a commission of bankruptcy followed. On December 9th, 1814, Lord Ffrench committed suicide, in despair over the bank's failure.
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Ffrench's Bank 30 Shillings 21st May 1814.jpg
Ffrench's Bank 30 Shillings 21st May 1814.jpg (89.05 KiB) Viewed 17059 times
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

Post by Mac »

The female figure is quite different in the third type. All other aspects of the note appear to be similar to the earlier type, apart from the removal of the partner.

I'm not sure I would put my money into a bank located at No.13!
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

Post by DOC »

Yes, No.13 did not prove to be lucky for this bank. Although the collapse of the bank caused much hardship at the time, it provided a significant hoard of banknotes for future collectors :)

Bank post bills were issued by many banks in Ireland in the early 1800’s and became a significant element of circulating currency. Bank Post Bills were designed to transmit money through the post and were payable after a specified amount of time for security reasons. The design of the Ffrench’s Bank Post Bills is very similar to those of their banknotes and as such they are highly collectable.

As for the 30 shillings notes, three types of £3 Post Bill have been observed for Ffrench’s Bank Dublin, examples attached. The early type appears to be quite scarce.
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Ffrench's Bank Post Bill 3 Pounds 6th October 1812.jpg
Ffrench's Bank Post Bill 3 Pounds 6th October 1812.jpg (124.61 KiB) Viewed 17007 times
Ffrench's Bank Post Bill 3 Pounds 9th February 1813.jpg
Ffrench's Bank Post Bill 3 Pounds 9th February 1813.jpg (120.38 KiB) Viewed 17007 times
Ffrenchs' Bank Post Bill 3 Pounds 1st June 1814.jpg
Ffrenchs' Bank Post Bill 3 Pounds 1st June 1814.jpg (141.7 KiB) Viewed 17007 times
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

Post by ThePloughman »

That's a nice run of 3 Pounders!
I treat these post bills as currency bills and collect them both equally.
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

Post by DOC »

Yes, I think it is reasonable to consider them as currency bills given that they circulated as such when they were issued.

To add to the variety, here is a Ffrench's Bank £3 note of the first design type. :)
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Ffrench's Bank 3 Pounds 19th August 1813.jpg
Ffrench's Bank 3 Pounds 19th August 1813.jpg (118.56 KiB) Viewed 16961 times
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

Post by ThePloughman »

That is a nice example even with the mounting stickies.
Has anyone catologed these varieties yet, or is it in progress: here?
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

Post by DOC »

Paper Money of Ireland has catalogued a number of types based on different partnership listings. The existence of two design types add an additional layer of variety to the Ffrench's Bank notes. I plan to post the types that I have observed to date on The Forum.
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

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Three types of 3 Guinea Post Bill have also been observed for Ffrench’s Bank Dublin, examples attached. These notes frequently turn up for sale and are a good choice for collectors seeking an example of a note from the Irish Private Banking Era.
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Ffrench's Bank Post Bill 3 Guineas 26th Aug.1813.jpg
Ffrench's Bank Post Bill 3 Guineas 26th Aug.1813.jpg (94.27 KiB) Viewed 16841 times
Ffrenchs Bank Post Bill 3 Guineas 29th May 1813.jpg
Ffrenchs Bank Post Bill 3 Guineas 29th May 1813.jpg (95.94 KiB) Viewed 16844 times
Ffrenchs Bank Post Bill 3 Guineas 2nd May 1814.jpg
Ffrenchs Bank Post Bill 3 Guineas 2nd May 1814.jpg (106.13 KiB) Viewed 16845 times
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

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Here is a second type of £4 Bank Post Bill which is issued by the final partnership. An interesting feature is the piece of paper with name of Bridget Magill attached by waxed seal. This most likely relates to procedures associated with the bankruptcy. It is likely that other types of £4 note were issued by this bank.
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Ffrench's Bank Post Bill 4 Pounds 12th May 1814.jpg
Ffrench's Bank Post Bill 4 Pounds 12th May 1814.jpg (133.21 KiB) Viewed 16775 times
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

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Higher denomination notes and post bills of Ffrench's Bank appear to be scarce or even rare. Two types of 4 Guinea Post Bill are attached. I have not seen many notes of this denomination.
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Ffrench's Bank Post Bill 4 Guineas August 29th 1813.jpg
Ffrench's Bank Post Bill 4 Guineas August 29th 1813.jpg (146.45 KiB) Viewed 16740 times
Ffrench's Bank Post Bill 4 Guineas 5th Feb.1814.jpg
Ffrench's Bank Post Bill 4 Guineas 5th Feb.1814.jpg (125.28 KiB) Viewed 16740 times
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

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Here is a £5 Post Bill of the earlier type issued in 1813. Other types of £5 post bills and notes were probably issued but are likely to be scarce.
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Ffrench's Bank Dublin Post Bill 5 Pounds 4th May 1813.jpg
Ffrench's Bank Dublin Post Bill 5 Pounds 4th May 1813.jpg (59.49 KiB) Viewed 16609 times
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

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Here is a £10 note of the earlier type issued in 1813. The issue rates of these high denomination notes were low so this is likely to be a rare note.
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Ffrench's Bank 10 Pounds 21st Oct 1813.jpg
Ffrench's Bank 10 Pounds 21st Oct 1813.jpg (62.33 KiB) Viewed 16143 times
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

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Here is a rare unissued £10 note with Thomas Ffrench as lead partner. The Dublin Branch is reported to have opened in 1807 so this note probably dates from 1807-1808. An interesting feature is the watermark, which reads ‘FOR THE HON. SIR THOMAS FFRENCH BART.’ and the address is given as 31 Dominick Street.
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Ffrench's Bank 10 Pounds Unissued ca.1807-1808.jpg
Ffrench's Bank 10 Pounds Unissued ca.1807-1808.jpg (105.57 KiB) Viewed 15911 times
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Re: Ffrench's Bank, Charles & Co. Dublin • 1812–1814

Post by Mac »

That £10 is a nice example of a note.
It is not often that the watermark can be seen clearly on these, and a refreshing reminder that the notes did contain good security features.
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