Coloured stamp on early Bank of Ireland notes

Banknote issues preceding the Irish Government issues. Joint Stock Banks. Private Banks.
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callahiljo
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Coloured stamp on early Bank of Ireland notes

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Very few of these notes around but here are two good images of the type of stamp I am wondering about. Any suggestions as to their purpose? Was it a duty stamp, the bank's own identifying stamp applied when the note was issued? Not seen after 1797 on any BoI note as far as I know.
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BA 2 close up.jpg
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BA 2 BOI 1 gn 1797 detail.jpg
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DOC
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Re: Coloured stamp on early Bank of Ireland notes

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There is a document in the British Museum which may answer this question. The document indicates that the ‘mark’ was introduced in 1783 with the purpose of preventing forgery.
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callahiljo
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Re: Coloured stamp on early Bank of Ireland notes

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And this, right on cue, is a close up of one on a 1797 forged guinea note! Perhaps by this point the bank had realised the idea wasn't working?
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Re: Coloured stamp on early Bank of Ireland notes

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Yes, it appears that the Bank realised that their security device was no longer deterring the forgers and stopped using it in 1797. Here is a notice issued by the Bank in a contemporary newspaper which indicates that the Bank had concerns about the forgery problem.
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