Ross Bank 1800

[ThePloughman]

Here's another strange denomination!

A Ross Bank 9 Shilling note. Date looks like 23 Jan 1800.

[DOC]

The 9 shilling denomination was also know as a 'Silver' note. The Ross Bank had two registered partners, George Roe and his brother Peter. This one is signed by Peter Roe.

I attach a later example of a 4 Guinea note from this bank. This denomination is readily available to collectors as a hoard of partly issued and non-issued notes was discovered some time ago. The attached note is a fully issued example from 1814.

[Mac]

I have seen very few fully issued examples of these notes. That's quite a nice one.

[DOC]

The 3 Guinea note appears to be scarcer than the 4 Guinea note. Here is a partially issued example without signature.

[Mac]

I can't recall seeing a 3 Guinea note before!

[DOC]

Here is a fully issued 1 Guinea note signed by Peter Roe. Few examples survive.

[ThePloughman]

I figure 3 and 4 Guineas are scarcer denominations. Are there other odd notes, 5 or 6 Guineas perhaps?

[DOC]

For this bank, the lower denominations are much scarcer. The primary reason for this is that a hoard of partly issues 4 guinea notes turned up some time ago. I have not seen a 5 or 6 Guinea note from this bank but it is possible they were issued. The only other recorded denomination is for 30 Shillings (scan attached).

[ThePloughman]

I guess that as many of these banks went broke without paying their notes up, there are potentially a lot of unpaid notes hanging around for us collectors.
How often do hoards turn up, any new material recently?

[DOC]

Irish Private Bank notes are generally quite scarce. Hoards are few and far between ! Not much material has turned up in recent years. The most recent old note hoard that I can recall (not a Private Bank) was a group of cancelled Hibernian Joint Stock Bank notes from the 1820's. Some of these are posted on the Forum. I would be curious to know if anyone can remember how the large group of Ffrenchs' Bank notes (Dublin & Tuam) originally came to market.

[Mac]

Yes, the Hibernian Token notes which turned up were the first issued examples I had seen. I had recorded only the odd proof before that.

[DOC]

The vignette on Ross Bank 3 Guineas and 4 Guineas notes depicts a female figure leaning on an anchor looking out to see. I have seen this vignette on other Irish Private Bank notes and post bills and wondered if it has any significance. The attached link provides an insight and indicates that this depiction is symbolic of ‘Hope’.

https ://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/42045.html

[Mac]

HIbernia hoping for a better future...

Probably a standard design idea in use by banknote printers of the day. Also used on some later joint stock banknotes, and Bank of Ireland notes.

[Mac]

Here is a £1 note for Peter Roe, Ross, dated 29 Sep 1806.

Peter-Roe-Ross-1-Pound-29-Sep-1806.jpg (50.43 KiB) Viewed 4121 times

[DOC]

Nice to see a previously unrecorded denomination turning up. It is curious that for this bank, the lower denominations (£1, 1 Guinea, 30 Shillings) are much rarer than the higher denominations (3 & 4 Guineas).

[LimerickNomad]

Nice to see a previously unrecorded denomination turning up. It is curious that for this bank, the lower denominations (£1, 1 Guinea, 30 Shillings) are much rarer than the higher denominations (3 & 4 Guineas).

But "turning up" from where exactly, DOC? Where have these notes been for the last 200+ years?

[DOC]

Nice to see a previously unrecorded denomination turning up. It is curious that for this bank, the lower denominations (£1, 1 Guinea, 30 Shillings) are much rarer than the higher denominations (3 & 4 Guineas).

But "turning up" from where exactly, DOC? Where have these notes been for the last 200+ years?

That is a good question and it is not always clear where these items have resided over the years. I would guess that the original holders of the notes kept them as heirlooms when the banks went bust. They eventually turn up at auction or at a show when a descendent decides to sell them. New discoveries are continually emerging and this is an exciting aspect of the hobby

[Mac]

Here are pictures of the note as I received it. It is likely that the note has not come from a collection.
An antiques and collectibles auctioneer in England had it for sale.

[Mac]

I was pleased that it was actually in better overall condition than it looked initially!

[DOC]

Here is an interesting unissued note denominated in British Shillings and associated with Ross (New Ross, Co.Wexford).The initials in the monogram are ‘RR’ and the promissory text is in the form of an ‘IOU’. PMI classifies this note as a ‘Tradesman’ note dating from the early 1800’s and the issuer is likely to be a local business person.