Belfast Banking Company 1827-1920

[DOC]

This is the earliest known surviving example of a Belfast Banking Company note in issued form. The note is payable at 36 branches (including Belfast) and signed by Chief Cashier John J. Duggan.

[callahiljo]

I have poor photocopy images of a couple of other notes of this specific type (BB 29 in PMI), one of which has the earlier date of 1 Mar 1871.

Where the notes now reside I cannot be sure, perhaps in the Northern Bank archives. I have had the images for about 30 years and unfortunately I don't know where they came from!

[DOC]

Thanks for sharing the information about an earlier issued £1 note from 1871. Perhaps someone out there has an even earlier example. The prospects though are not high given that you recorded the 1871 example some 30 years ago !

[Mac]

There are few surviving examples in private hands, that I know of, dated prior to 1900.

This nice example is up in the next noonans' sale of British and Irish Banknotes in March.

[DOC]

Here is an example of an early multi-branch Belfast Banking Company £1 specimen note. This note dates from about 1865 and has 26 branches including Belfast. An interesting feature is the absence of the word ‘INCORPORATED’ in the lower margin as the note predates incorporation of the bank which took place in 1865.

[DOC]

This attractive bank draft for £5 was issued by Abraham Bell & Son of New York in 1851 and is drawn on The Belfast Banking Company. An interesting feature is the mention of the branches of the Belfast Banking Company at the time, 19 branches plus Belfast. The draft is also payable at agencies of The Bank of Ireland with specific mention of the Clonmel branch of Bank of Ireland.

[DOC]

This attractively designed draft for £2 was issued by Montgomery Brothers of New York in 1866 and is drawn upon the Belfast Banking Company. A £1 denomination is also known. These drafts were most likely issued to facilitate transfer of money by Irish immigrants in the US to relations back home in Ireland.

[callahiljo]

Very interesting. I had only seen a black and white photocopy of the £2 draft and didn't realise the numeral was green rather than red.

[DOC]

It was a pleasant surprise to see that the colour of the numerals differ for the £1 and £2 drafts. Hopefully, higher denominations of this series will emerge in due course.

[DOC]

This Belfast Banking £1 Proof was sold at Noonan’s British and Irish Banknotes Auction this week. This proof note was printed by Perkins & Heath, London, and dates from the early days of the bank (1827-1832). No issued notes from the Original Issue are known to have survived. These notes were uniface.

A series of Trial Proofs were subsequently prepared by Charles Skipper & East, London, of similar design to the Original Issue. These proofs were printed after 1883, with printing on both sides, the reverse having the bank title ‘Belfast Banking Company Limited.