Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

Banknotes issued by Irish Private Banks ca1700–ca1833
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Mac
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Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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Another Cork Bank partnership.
Two very similar yet completely different designs for 25 Shilling notes which are close together in date of issue.

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Cork Bank 25 Shillings 25th July 1825

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Cork Bank One Pound 25 Shillings 1st Dec1825
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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Interesting to see two notes so close in date with different designs. The motivation for the design change probably relates to the abolition of the Irish currency under the Assimilation of Currencies Act, 1825. Barrow's Book 'The Emergence of the Irish Banking System' states: Notes and post bills were always denominated in Irish currency until just before the assimilation. The word 'sterling', commonly added after the amount, did not indicate British currency but seems to have been no more than a promise of sound value. When British currency was intended, as in bills or promissory notes payable in London, the words 'British sterling' were used. The note dated 1st Dec.1825 above is in British Sterling while the 25th July 1825 note is just in sterling.

This partnership also produced an earlier example of a 25 shillings note with another completely different design (see attached) !
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Cork Bank Charles Leslie & Co. 25 Shillings 18th March 1823.jpg
Cork Bank Charles Leslie & Co. 25 Shillings 18th March 1823.jpg (103.65 KiB) Viewed 15841 times
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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The origins of Leslie’s Cork Bank, goes right back to the bank founded by Thomas Roberts in 1786. John Leslie joined the partnership of Thomas Roberts in 1799. The bank went through a number of partnership changes and in about 1819 Charles Henry Leslie became lead partner with John Leslie as the second partner. The Bank eventually collapsed in 1826. The issues from 1819-1826 are surprisingly complex given that there appears to have been only two partners.

Here is an example of a 4th design for the 25 shillings note with the partners listed as Charles Henry & John Leslie. This was quickly amended to Charles Henry Leslie & John Leslie in the next design. The partnership description changed again in 1825 to Charles Henry Leslie & Jn’o Leslie but there is no evidence to support an actual partnership change. The description of John Leslie as Jn’o Leslie aligns with the move to British Sterling.
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Cork Bank Leslies' 25 Shillings 16th June 1823.jpg
Cork Bank Leslies' 25 Shillings 16th June 1823.jpg (88.36 KiB) Viewed 14947 times
Last edited by DOC on 12 Jun 2019 22:05, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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I wonder if they had a forgery problem, and continually varied these relatively minor details on their banknotes in an effort to stay ahead of it.
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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Yes, they may well have had an issue with forgeries but I suspect that the turmoil experienced by the bank could also be a factor. The bank suspended payments during the crisis of 1820 and did not reopen until 1822. It finally collapsed in 1826.

I have seen three designs for the £1 notes (scans attached). As for the 25 shillings notes, an unframed design was also probably printed but I have not seen an example.
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Cork Bank Leslie's 1 Pound 22nd Sept. 1823.jpg
Cork Bank Leslie's 1 Pound 22nd Sept. 1823.jpg (89.91 KiB) Viewed 14861 times
Cork Bank Leslie's 1 Pound 1st Oct. 1824.jpg
Cork Bank Leslie's 1 Pound 1st Oct. 1824.jpg (102.87 KiB) Viewed 14861 times
Cork Bank Leslie's 1 Pound 1st Nov. 1825.jpg
Cork Bank Leslie's 1 Pound 1st Nov. 1825.jpg (131.72 KiB) Viewed 14861 times
Last edited by DOC on 12 Jun 2019 22:06, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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I have seen three designs also for the 30 Shillings notes (scans attached). As for the 25 shillings notes, an unframed design was also probably printed but no examples have been seen to date.
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Cork Bank Leslie & Co. 30 Shillings Unissued ca.1823.jpg
Cork Bank Leslie & Co. 30 Shillings Unissued ca.1823.jpg (25.6 KiB) Viewed 14739 times
Cork Bank Leslie & Co 30 Shillings 10 Dec. 1824.jpg
Cork Bank Leslie & Co 30 Shillings 10 Dec. 1824.jpg (75.5 KiB) Viewed 14739 times
Cork Bank Leslie & Co. 30 Shillings 1st Dec 1825.jpg
Cork Bank Leslie & Co. 30 Shillings 1st Dec 1825.jpg (115.07 KiB) Viewed 14739 times
Last edited by DOC on 12 Jun 2019 22:06, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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At first glance, I don't see a pattern of Series emerging, have to look more closely at them.
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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I think there could be a pattern to the curious issues of this bank. More to follow. ;)
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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This bank also issued £2 notes. Despite the 1825 date, the example attached is most likely part of the first issue and similar in style to a 25 shillings note listed in a previous posting. Due to their limited issue rate, higher denomination notes were frequently issued years after the original printing.
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Cork Bank Charles Leslie & Co. 2 Pounds 29th June 1825.jpg
Cork Bank Charles Leslie & Co. 2 Pounds 29th June 1825.jpg (60.52 KiB) Viewed 14599 times
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

Post by ThePloughman »

This is a really cool note!
The design matches the 1 Pound 5 Shilling you posted earlier. I figure these are the first issue of the bank.
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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Here is some evidence to support the idea that the unframed designs are part of the First Issue for Charles Henry Leslie & Co. The 25 shillings posted earlier dated 18th March 1823, has serial number J8988 suggesting that many notes were printed in this series prior to the 1823 date. The Bank reset the serial numbers for the first framed design issued later in 1823.

The style of the unframed notes is in line with the design used for earlier partnerships with the surnames of the partners in scrolling text on the left hand side of the note. An example of an earlier design from about 1810-1815 with Thomas Roberts as lead partner is attached.
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Cork Bank Thomas Roberts & Co. 10 Pounds Unissued ca.1810-1815.jpg
Cork Bank Thomas Roberts & Co. 10 Pounds Unissued ca.1810-1815.jpg (33.27 KiB) Viewed 14068 times
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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Here are two notes to support the proposal that the Bank considered the framed designs in Irish currency to be distinct issues. The note dated 22nd February 1823 has serial number a1359 while the serial numbers were reset for the later note dated 20th October 1823 which has serial number 337.
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Cork Bank Charles Leslie & Co. 1 Pound 22nd Feb. 1823.jpg
Cork Bank Charles Leslie & Co. 1 Pound 22nd Feb. 1823.jpg (56.32 KiB) Viewed 13963 times
Cork Bank Charles Leslie & Co. 1 Pound 20th Oct. 1823.jpg
Cork Bank Charles Leslie & Co. 1 Pound 20th Oct. 1823.jpg (160.42 KiB) Viewed 13963 times
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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Here is evidence to support the proposal for a 3rd and 4th Issue for Charles Henry Leslie & Co. The £1 dated 1st October 1824 has serial number B1713 while the serial number for the £1 with the new design dated 24th October 1825 is reset to 882. The change in design aligns with the shift to British Sterling and appears to have been implemented by the bank in mid-1825.
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Cork Bank Charles Leslie & Co. 1 Pound 1st Oct. 1824.jpg
Cork Bank Charles Leslie & Co. 1 Pound 1st Oct. 1824.jpg (137.93 KiB) Viewed 13797 times
Cork Bank Charles Leslie & Co. 1 Pound 24th Oct. 1825.jpg
Cork Bank Charles Leslie & Co. 1 Pound 24th Oct. 1825.jpg (128.41 KiB) Viewed 13797 times
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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Here is a summary of the issues reported for Cork Bank Charles Henry Leslie & Co. and its predecessor banks with Thomas Roberts and Walter Roberts as lead partners. This line of banks lasted for an impressive 40 years.
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Cork Bank Roberts & Co. Leslie & Co..JPG
Cork Bank Roberts & Co. Leslie & Co..JPG (133.27 KiB) Viewed 12815 times
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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This Commercial Bank of Calcutta 5 Rupees proof note is interesting in sharing a common vignette with Cork Bank 30 Shillings notes. The Commercial Bank note was designed and printed by Perkins, Fairman & Heath in 1820 and the central vignette subsequently used on Cork Bank 30 Shillings notes in 1825. The vignette depicts Mercury handing over money to ‘Commerce’ who is sitting on merchandise.
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Commercial Bank Calcutta 5 Rupees Specimen Vignette ca. 1820.jpg
Commercial Bank Calcutta 5 Rupees Specimen Vignette ca. 1820.jpg (113.56 KiB) Viewed 2076 times
Commercial Bank Calcutta 5 Rupees proof ca. 1820.jpg
Commercial Bank Calcutta 5 Rupees proof ca. 1820.jpg (123.99 KiB) Viewed 2076 times
Cork Bank Charles Henry Leslie & Co. 30 Shillings 1st Dec 1825.jpg
Cork Bank Charles Henry Leslie & Co. 30 Shillings 1st Dec 1825.jpg (142.04 KiB) Viewed 2076 times
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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It is exactly the same engraving down to the finest detail!
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Re: Cork Bank. Leslie's 1825

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The vignettes are almost identical but the Cork Bank 30 Shillings has the letters ‘KRCX’ on the cargo bales. It seems that when vignettes were adopted by different banks, the general approach was to add some security features.
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Cork Bank Leslie's 30 Shillings 20th Jan 1826 Vignette.jpg
Cork Bank Leslie's 30 Shillings 20th Jan 1826 Vignette.jpg (31.21 KiB) Viewed 1893 times
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