irishpapermoney.com

O'Mahony Branch, I guess I need to read up on these guys.

The highest denomination observed for Fenian Bonds is $500. An unissued example of a Scanlon Bond is attached. These are very rare, particularly in issued form.

Very nice, and not often seen! Do you have a picture of the reverse by any chance?

Sorry, I don't have an image of the reverse

I came across this interesting, O’Mahony $20, Fenian Bond, which has the counterfoil attached. It provides some interesting insights into the issuing process. The bond is partially prepared for issue with the date added but still missing the name of the recipient.

It appears that the number on the left side of the note is the serial number (1666) while the letter C probably refers to the printing plate. I wonder what is the significance of the number on the right side of the note (335)? Could it be the page number of the register where the bond details are recorded?

The 355 could be a batch number. The 1666 is listed on the counterfoil, but not the 355.
Also, the crop marks are still in place, indicating that this bond has not yet been cut down to size, suggesting (to me) that the signature and date were a part of the printing process - I doubt that the bonds would be cut down by hand individually.

Just looking more closely at the Scanlon bonds and it suggests that the number on the right side of both types of bonds (O’Mahony and Scanlon) is the Register Number.

Examples of uncut $5 sheets indicate that notes with different plate codes could have the same Serial / Register number combination. An example of an uncut sheet is attached.

These three have the same number on the right and on the left.

The highest known denomination for Fenian Bonds is $500. Here are examples of O’Mahony $500 bonds, one unissued, the other a copy of an issued note in one colour tone. An interesting feature is that the serial numbers on these bonds add up to 251 (32/219 & 218/33) and both have the same plate number D.

Nice to get a decent image of the 500 in colour. I have previously seen seen the monotone image in black.

Here is an interesting Irish National Bond associated with the Fenian Brotherhood which appeared recently on ebay. The bond is unissued but bears the same Sullivan signature as seen on Scanlon Fenian bonds. This provides evidence that the Irish National Bonds were associated with the Michael Scanlon (Robert’s Faction) rather than the John O’Mahony faction of the Fenians. These bonds were probably used by the former for donations less than $10.

Derek Young in an article in Coin News (June 1992) proposed that the Sullivan signature is that of D. O’Sullivan. Looking at the signature, this appears correct to me.

So does this help further, or do we know whose signature this is on my earlier posted sample?

Paper Money of Ireland reports a fully issued example for $1 signed by Martin A. Davey while the one you posted is signed by D.R. Sheil for $5. They are the only fully issued examples reported to date. These bonds were hand signed and most likely issued by clerical officers working in the bond issue department.

I recently found images of this Scanlan $500 Fenian Bond. It transpires that the reverse is the same as that of the $100 bonds.

Here is an interesting stage proof of an O’Mahony $10 Fenian Bond from ca. 1866. This rare item was offered for sale at the Whyte’s May 2023 Eclectic Collector Auction. An issued example with the complete design is also included for comparison.

Interesting to see that the vignette and two portraits appear to be on a different plate to the black text and other detail on the proof.

This rare O’Mahony $100 unissued Fenian Bond appeared recently on ebay. I have only seen Plate Codes A and B for this type of bond but this one has Plate Code D.

Attached Plate E and F for this bond type

My reference there was to the $100 bonds which I should have referred to as denomination rather than type. Plate letters from A to G are known for the $10 denomination.