A review of some prices realised in recent auctions.
There was a broad range of Irish banknotes on offer during 2023, with many items selling well.
Generally, the demand remained strong for Irish notes in all grades.
Noonan's Auction of Paper Money
31 May & 1 June 2023. Banknotes
Irish private banks
Lot 201.
Gibbons & Williams, Dublin, unissued £5, 1 September 1833. Est £400-£500. Price realised £400.
This note has ‘Johnston & Co.’ inscribed in the signature panel, and might have been issued by the London agents of the bank. Johnston & Co., London acted as agents for some of the Irish banks at the time.
Lot 203.
Hannyingtons Bank, for Thomas Hannyington, 1 Guinea (1 Pound, 2 Shillings and 9 Pence), 9 October 1812. Est. £300-£400. Price realised £280.
Irish joint stock banks
Lot 254. Provincial Bank of Ireland Ltd, £20, 6 May 1929. Est. £1,200-£1,800. Price realised £1,200.
Limerick Soviet
These three examples are all in nice grade. They realised record prices, reflecting a continued strong demand for these notes.
Lot 278.
Limerick ‘Soviet’ Trades & Labour Council, 1 Shilling, April 1919, serial number 185. AU. Est. £2,000-£2,600. Price realised £4,000.
Lot 279. Limerick ‘Soviet’ Trades & Labour Council, 5 Shillings, April 1919, serial number 117. GEF. Est. £2,000-£2,600. Price realised £4,200.
Lot 280. Limerick ‘Soviet’ Trades & Labour Council, 10 Shillings, April 1919, no serial number. VF. Est. £2,000-£2,600. Price realised £2,800.
Consolidated Bank Notes 'Ploughman series'
Lot 311. Currency Commission, National Bank Ltd, £10, 2 October 1931. Nice GVF. Est £1,800-£2,400. Price realised £3,000.
Lot 312. Currency Commission, Northern Bank Ltd, £1, 7 January 1931. fine. Est £800-£1,200. Price realised £750.
Lot 319. Currency Commission, Royal Bank of Ireland, £5, 8 May 1931. About VF. Est £1,200-£1,600. Price realised £2,200.
Legal Tender notes '
Lady Lavery series'
Lot 339. Central Bank of Ireland, specimen £50,
McElligott and Whitaker signatures. AEF. Est £800-£1,000. Price realised £1,400.
Lot 340. Central Bank of Ireland, specimen £100, McElligott and Whitaker signatures. Est £800-£1,000. Price realised £1,000.
Some Lots to watch:
Lot 205.
Bank of Ireland, £1, 23 October 1916. Good Fine overall. Est £200-£260 Price realised £360. A very solid price for a presentable lower grade example.
Lot 235.
The National Bank Limited, £10, 1 February 1937. gVF-aEF. Est £400-£500. Price realised £400.
Lot 237. The National Bank Limited, £20, 1 January 1949. gVF. Est £400-£500. Unsold.
Lot 349. Central Bank of Ireland, £5, 5 September 1975. UNC. Est £260-£300. Price realised £220.
Noonan's Auction of Paper Money
27 July 2023. British and Irish Banknotes
Irish joint stock banks
Lot 223. Bank of Ireland, £1, 29 October 1881. Est. £3,000-£4,000. Attractive Fine. Price realised £3,200.
A nice example of a Craig signature note with
4 lines of branches in sans-serif type.
Consolidated Bank Notes 'Ploughman series'
Lot 268. Currency Commission, Hibernian Bank, £1, 10 April 1939. GVF. Est £300-£400. Price realised £380.
Lot 270. Currency Commission, Hibernian Bank, £10, 2 October 1931. fine with minor ink marks. Est £1,200-£1,600. Price realised £2,000.
Lot 272. Currency Commission, National Bank Ltd, £1,3 January 1936. Nice GVF-EF. Est £240-£300. Price realised £340.
Lot 273. Currency Commission, National Bank Ltd, £5, 15.3.33. Nice AEF. Est £1,000-£1,500. Price realised £800. A weak result for this banknote.
Lot 279. Currency Commission, Ulster Bank, £10, 9 August 1939. GVF. Est £3,000-£4,000. Price realised £6,000.
Legal Tender notes '
Lady Lavery series'
Lot 281. Currency Commission Ireland,£5, 9 March 1939. GVF. Est £200-£260. Price realised £150.
Lot 284. Currency Commission Ireland, £1, 8 January 1942, About EF. Est £180-£220. Price realised £280.
Lot 287. Currency Commission Ireland, £5, 5 June 1942. Original VF. Est £200-£260. Price realised £220.
Lot 306. Central Bank of Ireland, specimen £50, Whitaker and
Murray signatures. Est £1,000-£1,400. A less common specimen with ‘Specimen’ perforated rather than printed.
Lot 308. Central Bank of Ireland, £100, 10 April 1975. Est £600-£800. GEF. A nice example which should sell well.
Lot 311. Central Bank of Ireland, £10 replacement note, 10 February 1975. Est £150-£240. GEF-AU. Price realised £260.
Some Lots to watch
Lot 316 and Lot 317. Central Bank of Ireland, £50, 4 April 1977.
Two notes in sequence. Both notes are graded PMG 64 EPQ, and estimated at £1,200-£1,600. Both unsold.
Lot 318, Lot 319 and Lot 320. Central Bank of Ireland, £100, 4 April 1977.
Three £100 notes in sequence, the first EF (Est £400-£500), the subsequent two GVF (Est £300-£400 each).
Prices realised: Lot 318, £300; Lot 319, £240; Lot 320, unsold.
Spink Auction of World Banknotes
Tuesday 26 September 2023
Lot 136, £1 National Bank Limited (undated, 1929-1934). Graded 53, with mould damage. Est £3,000-£5,000. This estimate is very optimistic, considering that a £10 (a much rarer note) specimen dated 1929, graded 64 was sold for £1,300 plus fees in Spink’s sale 29 Sept 2022.
Lot 140, £1 National Bank Limited 1 September 1926. Graded 62 Net, but with mould damage. Est £800-£1,200. Unsold.
Lot 141,
National Bank Limited £50 25 November 1920. Graded 62, but with mould damage. Est £1,500-£2,500. Price realised £2,200.
Lot 142, National Bank Limited £100 30 November 1920. Graded 58, with mould damage. Est £2,500-£3,500. Price realised £2,400.
Although the notes in Lot 141 and 142 were likely
issued in small quantities, no surviving examples are known.
Lot 167, £10 National Bank Limited 10th May 1927. Graded 62, also with mould damage. Est £1,000-£1,500. Price realised £1,700.
Noonan's Auction of Paper Money
12 October 2023. British and Irish Banknotes
Irish private banks
Lot 220.
Shaws Bank, £10, 13 January 1836. Est £700-£900. Fine. Price realised £650.
Lot 222.
Cork Bank, for Charles Henry Leslie & John Leslie, £1, 24 October 1825. Est £260-£360. Fine. Price realised £220.
Lot 224.
Mallow Bank, for Robert de la Cour and Richard Jonson Cuthbert, 30 Shillings, 2 June 1820. Est £600-£800. VG-Fine. Unsold.
Irish joint stock banks
Lot 252. The National Bank Limited, £10, 10 December 1918. Est. £1,500-£2,000. Overall Fine. Price realised £3,000.
Lot 254. National Bank Limited, £5, 5th October 1925. Est. £4,000-£5,000. Price realised £4,600.
Lot 255. National Bank Limited, watermarked paper as used on the
1929 to 1934 issue including the £1, £5, £10 and £20, glued into blue card frame with ink annotation, as produced, the only example of this watermark in the Portals archive, Est £100-£150. Price realised £90.
Lot 275.
Provincial Bank of Ireland, £1, fraudulently altered to £10, Clonmel, 1 December 1828. Est £200-£300. Price realised £280.
Lot 285. Provincial Bank of Ireland Ltd, obverse and reverse steel printing plates for £20, type of 1929. Est £150-£200. Price realised £120.
Consolidated Bank Notes 'Ploughman series'
The section on Ploughman notes opens with specimens of watermarked paper for the three lower denominations.
Lot 315. Currency Commission, Ploughman Series, watermarked papers as used on the £1, £5 and £10, issued from 1929 to 1940, including the coloured fibres found on the issued notes, all in blue card frames, with ink annotations. Est £300-£400. Price realised £320.
Lot 318. Currency Commission, Bank of Ireland, £1, 3 July 1939, mulberry serial number. EF45 EPQ. Est £1,000-£1,500. Unsold.
Lot 319. Currency Commission, Hibernian Bank, £1, 5 August 1939, mulberry serial number. VF40. Est £600-£800. Price realised £800.
Lot 330. Currency Commission, Ulster Bank, £1, 9 July 1934. Good Fine. Est £180-£240. Price realised £300.
Legal Tender notes '
Lady Lavery series'
Lot 331. Currency Commission, Irish Free State, 10 Shillings, 23 October 1928. AU. Est £800-£1,000. Well better than average grade for this note. A nice example with good eye appeal. Price realised £2,400.
Lot 332. Currency Commission/Central Bank of Ireland, Lady Lavery Series, watermarked paper featuring the head of Erin, as used on 10 Shillings, £1, £5 and £10 from 1928 until 1977. Est £400-£500. Price realised £480.
Lot 344. Central Bank of Ireland, £100, 4 April 1977. UNC65 EPQ. Est £1,500-£2,000. Price realised £1,500.
Lots 345 and 346 are sequential GEF examples of Central Bank of Ireland, £100, 4 April 1977. Est £300-£400 each. Prices realised: Lot 345, £340; Lot 346, £360..
Lot 351. Central Bank of Ireland, £100, 22 August 1996. UNC67 EPQ. Est £1,000-£1,500. Price realised £900. A result consistent with other examples of this note graded UNC67.
Spink Auction of World Banknotes
4 October, 2023
Lot 1347. Northern Ireland,
Northern Bank, £4, Belfast, 18-- (1820-24). Est £120-£180. Price realised £550.
Lot 1348. Northern Ireland, Northern Bank, £20, Belfast, 18-- (1820-24). Est £120-£180. Price realised £520.
Lot 1349. Northern Ireland, Northern Bank, 25 Shillings, Belfast, 182- (1824). Est £120-£180. Price realised £480.
Lot 1372. The
Southern Bank of Ireland, Cork £10, 18--, no serial number, Series L. Est £180-£200. Price realised £950.