Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

Banknotes issued by Irish Private Banks ca1700–ca1833
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ThePloughman
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Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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William Riall, Charles Riall, Arthur Riall. Final partnership (1802-1820).
This bank appears to have been one of the most successful of the Irish private banks, a family business spanning several generations which was operating for about 100 years. The bank failed in 1820.

Here are two notes from the final partnership of the Clonmell Bank, illustrating two different expressions of the same denomination, namely One Pound Ten shillings (1810) and Thirty Shillings (1818 not sure of the final digit here).

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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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Here's a 2 Guinea note from the bank.

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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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Here is an unissued 6 shillings ‘Silver Note’ from the bank of William Riall & Co. Clonmel. The year is given as 17__ so the note probably dates from the late 1700’s most likely 1799. The old spelling of Clonmel as ‘Clonmell’ is noteworthy.
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Clonmel Bank William Riall & Co. 6 Shillings ca. 1799 Unissued.jpg
Clonmel Bank William Riall & Co. 6 Shillings ca. 1799 Unissued.jpg (115.03 KiB) Viewed 17418 times
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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Here is a Half Guinea note issued by William Riall & Co., Clonmel, in 1805. This is a rare denomination seldom issued by any of the Irish Private Banks.
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Clonmel Bank William Riall & Co. Half Guinea July 1st 1805.jpg
Clonmel Bank William Riall & Co. Half Guinea July 1st 1805.jpg (116.56 KiB) Viewed 17308 times
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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Here is a £1 note issued by William Riall & Co. in 1819. An interesting feature is the presence of the letters ‘WC&AR’ in the panel below the coat of arms. This refers to the initials of the partners William, Charles & Arthur Riall.
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William Riall & Co. Clonmel 1 Pound 30th Nov.  1819.jpg
William Riall & Co. Clonmel 1 Pound 30th Nov. 1819.jpg (140.17 KiB) Viewed 16609 times
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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Here is an example of a 1 Guinea note issued by William Riall & Co, Clonmel Bank, in 1808.
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William Riall & Co. Clonmel Bank 1 Guinea 10th September 1808.jpg
William Riall & Co. Clonmel Bank 1 Guinea 10th September 1808.jpg (154.22 KiB) Viewed 16205 times
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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The spelling of Clonmel alternates between 'Clonmell' and 'Clonmel' on the above notes, showing a bit of inconsistency!
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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Here is a 25 shillings note issued by William Riall & Co. and again with the unusual spelling of Clonmel. :) The year of issue appears to be 1818.
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William Riall & Co. Clonmell Bank 25 Shillings 9th July 1818.jpg
William Riall & Co. Clonmell Bank 25 Shillings 9th July 1818.jpg (25.26 KiB) Viewed 15721 times
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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Here is a forged example of a Riall’s Bank 3 Guinea Post Bill dated 24th March 1804. Although a forgery, it is probably a faithful copy of a genuine post bill and as such provides an insight into the designs of notes where genuine examples are not known. The forged signature of Arthur Riall is not a bad effort as can be seen by comparison with a genuine example of his signature.
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William Riall & Co. Clonmel Bank 3 Guineas Post Bill Forgery 24th March 1804.jpg
William Riall & Co. Clonmel Bank 3 Guineas Post Bill Forgery 24th March 1804.jpg (142.31 KiB) Viewed 15570 times
Arthur Riall Signature.JPG
Arthur Riall Signature.JPG (14.19 KiB) Viewed 15570 times
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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It is quite a good forgery. The forged signature is a careful copy of the original.
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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Here is an example of a £5 note issued by William Riall & Co. in 1808. This is the highest denomination that I have seen for this bank although Paper Money of Ireland reports a 5 Guinea note.
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William Riall & Co. Clonmell Bank Riall 5 Pounds 2nd Sept. 1808.jpg
William Riall & Co. Clonmell Bank Riall 5 Pounds 2nd Sept. 1808.jpg (21.89 KiB) Viewed 15002 times
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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Here is a picture of a 5 Guinea note issued by William Riall & Co. in 1804.
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Rialls-Clonmel-Bank-5-Guineas-9-April-1804.jpg
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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Watson and Company, an unissued note for 6 Guineas.
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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The William Riall & Co. 5 Guineas note is a nice find. The contrast with the Watson & Co. 6 guineas is interesting as it shows that these banks employed different spellings for Clonmel in the bank title. I wonder if this was by accident or design?
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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The half Guinea note a few posts above is a Riall's note with Clonmel spelt using one l...
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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Mac wrote: 12 Sep 2021 19:36 The half Guinea note a few posts above is a Riall's note with Clonmel spelt using one l...
Yes, the Half Guinea note does not fit the pattern, but my suggestion was more directed to examples where ‘Bank’ is included in the title. Now that you mention the Half Guinea note, the format is most unusual. It is written in a cheque type format: To Messrs. William Riall & Bros.
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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The design of the Half Guinea note also doesn't fit that of the other notes of the bank that we have seen, and no listing of the partners' names—so it is not a note!
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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Mac wrote: 14 Sep 2021 19:14 The design of the Half Guinea note also doesn't fit that of the other notes of the bank that we have seen, and no listing of the partners' names—so it is not a note!
Despite the cheque-like appearance, I think we can consider it to be a note.

Gilbart provides some interesting insights in his book ‘The History of Banking in Ireland’. He mentions that some of the silver notes were drawn in the form of cheques written by a clerk of the bank to the bank partners. I would speculate that this was an attempt to circumvent an 1804 law which prohibited the issue of notes for sums less than £1 and it is interesting to see that the date on this Half Guinea note is 1805.
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Re: Rialls Bank, Clonmell 1802-1820

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The banks were quite ingenious at circumventing legislation in those days.
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