Issued Fifty Pound notes

Banknote issues preceding the Irish Government issues. Joint Stock Banks. Private Banks.
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Mac
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Issued Fifty Pound notes

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There are very few issued £50 notes known from the pre-partition era.

Northern Bank £20, £50, and £100 notes from the 1914-1918 era which were overprinted for use in Northern Ireland post 6 May 1929 are well-known, and most varieties are readily available.

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Nothern Bank Fifty Pounds 1914 with 1929 overprint.
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Re: Issued Fifty Pound notes

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By contrast, here is one of the rarest of Irish notes!

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Bank of Ireland 50 Pounds 1908
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Re: Issued Fifty Pound notes

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Equally rare, a Belfast Banking company General Issue £50 note.
It's in nice condition too.

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Belfast Banking Company 50 Pounds 1917
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Re: Issued Fifty Pound notes

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Here are two more megga rare Bank of Ireland £50 notes, from well before the multi-branch General Issue era.

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Bank of Ireland 50 Pounds 1827

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Bank of Ireland 50 Pounds 1831

More early Bank of Ireland notes are on the main website.
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Re: Issued Fifty Pound notes

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Fifty pounds was a huge sum of money in the era of the old banknotes and it is unlikely that any issued, non-cancelled notes would have been retained except by accident. However, examples of early £50 notes are available to collectors in the form of cancelled or specimen notes.

Here is an example of a Provincial Bank, Limerick Branch, specimen note from the 1830’s with portrait of William IV.
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Provincial Bank 50 Pounds Specimen ca.1830-1837 Limerick.jpg
Provincial Bank 50 Pounds Specimen ca.1830-1837 Limerick.jpg (169.7 KiB) Viewed 2543 times
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Re: Issued Fifty Pound notes

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Here is an interesting example of a £50 Belfast Banking Company proof note showing on the front the design used for the Original Issue (1827-1850) and on the reverse Belfast Banking Company Limited implying a date post 1883. PMI proposes that these mismatched proofs may have been prepared in 1922 from original plates for archival purposes.

An Original Issue £50 uniface proof note is also known from the 1827-1850 era but no examples of issued notes from the original Issue are known to have survived.
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Belfast Banking Company 50 Pounds Proof ca. 1922.jpg
Belfast Banking Company 50 Pounds Proof ca. 1922.jpg (153.22 KiB) Viewed 2434 times
Belfast Banking Company 50 Pounds Proof ca.1922 Reverse.jpg
Belfast Banking Company 50 Pounds Proof ca.1922 Reverse.jpg (112.96 KiB) Viewed 2434 times
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Re: Issued Fifty Pound notes

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Useful as an example of the reverse printing of the multibranch General Issue £50 notes, showing the microprinting in the central panel.
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Re: Issued Fifty Pound notes

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The Northern Banking Company issued £50 notes prior to 1900 but no issued examples are known. Here is a specimen note from 1858. This denomination is only payable at the head office in Belfast.
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Northern Banking Company 50 Pounds Specimen Belfast ca. 1858.jpg
Northern Banking Company 50 Pounds Specimen Belfast ca. 1858.jpg (174.96 KiB) Viewed 645 times
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