Ploughman £50 and £100 additional dates of issue 3.11.30

[Mac]

I was going through some of the Ploughman info from the Central Bank of Ireland archive, looking for the last dates issued of the £1 notes, which I found. I also discovered a few details about the higher denominations Ploughman notes, records of some printage figures for £20, £50, and £100 notes which I had not noticed previously.

The most interesting bit was the second date of issue for £50 and £100 notes for the Bank of Ireland: 3 November 1930. These notes were likely never issued, but their production was advanced enough for them to have had numbers allocated, listed following.

The information on the Munster & Leinster Bank has been known since the1990s, from Central Bank of Ireland sources, much of the rest is new.

All notes are dated 6.5.29, except for the second Bank of Ireland date on £50 and £100 notes: 3.11.30.

Ploughman £20 notes by Bank, known to have been printed:
Bank of Ireland
01BX 000001 – 01BX 000100
Hibernian
01HX 000001 – 01HX 000100
Munster & Leinster
01MX 000001 – 01MX 004000
Northern
01OX 000001 – 01OX 003000
Provincial
01PX 000001 – 01PX 000200
Royal
01RX 000001 – 01RX 000210
Ulster
01UX 000001 – 01UX 000185

Ploughman £50 notes by bank, known to have been printed:
6.5.29 01BY 000001 – 01BY 000200
3.11.30 01BY 000201 – 01BY 000250
Munster & Leinster
01MY 000001 – 01MY 000100
Royal
01RY 000001 – 01RY 000050
Ulster
01UY 000001

Ploughman £100 notes by bank, known to have been printed:
Bank of Ireland
6.5.29 01BZ 000001 – 01BZ 000100
3.11.30 01BZ 000101 – 01BZ 000150
Munster & Leinster
01MZ 000001 – 01MZ 000050
Royal
01RZ 000001 – 01RZ 000020
Ulster
01UZ 000001 – 01UZ 000050

[ThePloughman]

Even after 90 years Irish currency can still produce surprises like a new date!
The mintage quantities are really small for the 50 and 100.

[DOC]

Mac, exciting new information on the elusive high denomination Ploughman notes.
Amazing to see reference to a new 1930 date !

The printage figures of the Ulster Bank notes are minuscule.
Did The Ulster Bank only issue one £50 note?

[Mac]

Ulster Bank likely issued more than one note! I'll check that figure.
These data are incomplete, I would say.

[Vellakare]

It indicates to me that only the M & L and Northern actively issued the £20, and that the £50 and £100 never circulated.

[Mac]

Not exactly. The ML data is known from the fact that the CBI retained the last ML notes, hence the amount of 4000 for the number of notes printed.
Some of the other banks did receive £50 and £100 notes, which is what the 'known to have been printed' data above is based on.

Below is a snapshot of the circulation data from the CBI Statement of Accounts from 1943. It shows a small amount of £50 and £100 notes still in circulation. Most of these entered circulation early on.

Bank of Ireland is known, from its own records, to have issued £20, £50, and £100 notes in small quantities.

CBIAR379-CBNe.jpg (72.29 KiB) Viewed 4514 times

[Vellakare]

So by Mid 1943, you can actually see the effects of the wartime inflation, as the circulation for the £5 rises, as that note tended to be the 'Store of value' note for most people at that time,

[ThePloughman]

A pity there are no pics of the 1930 £50 and £100 pounders.

[Mac]

Munster & Leinster Bank £20, £50, £100 notes dated 6.5.29 in the CBI archive are the only known surviving examples of the denominations other than Bank of Ireland Specimens that we all know and love.

[JohnnyQ]

Does that table say there were only four fifty pound notes in circulation in 1943? It’s surprisingly low.

[Mac]

Yep, you are reading it correctly. Four £50 notes. Currency commission records show that overall £50 notes were consistently the smallest circulation of the Ploughman notes.