Series A Banknotes

The Series A Banknotes (Irish: Nótaí bainc sraith A) were introduced by the Irish Free State in 1928. They were the first banknotes created by and for the state and continued to be issued when the Free State became Ireland. The series is known as "The Lady Lavery Series", from the prominent portrait on the front of the notes.[1] The notes were issued from 1928 to 1977 until they were gradually replaced by Series B notes beginning in 1976.[2] However, as no £100 note was issued in Series B, the Series A £100 note remained in use until replaced by the Series C note in 1996.[3]

An example (£1 note) of the Series A Banknotes

Banknotes

The Currency Commission of the Irish Free State prescribed the design of the notes and received advice from an advisory commission. Waterlow and Sons, Limited, London printed the notes on behalf of the commission. The series consists of notes in seven denominations: 10s, £1, £5, £10, £20, £50, and £100.[1]

Each note has a portrait of Lady Lavery – wife of the artist Sir John Lavery, who was commissioned to design this feature. The original oil on canvas painting of Lady Lavery, titled Portrait of Lady Lavery as Kathleen Ni Houlihan (1927), is displayed at the National Gallery of Ireland on loan from the Central Bank of Ireland.[4] The watermark on all notes of the series is of the "Head of Erin",[1] which is derived from the John Hogan statue.[5] A watermark of Lady Lavery's head continued to be used on the Series B and Series C banknotes until 2002.

The reverse of each denomination features the head of a "River God" representing one of the rivers of Ireland taken from a keystone on the Custom House in Dublin sculpted by Edward Smyth.[6] Rivers in both the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland were chosen.

The Currency Commission notes were printed with Currency Commission/Coimisiún Airgid Reatha and Irish Free State/Saorstát Éireann with facsimiles of the signatures of the Chairman of the Currency Commission/Cathaoirleach Choimisiúin an Airgid Reatha and of the Secretary of the Department of Finance/Rúnaí na Roinne Airgid. When the Constitution of Ireland had legal effect Ireland was substituted for Irish Free State, Éire for Saorstát Éireann.

In 1943 additional changes were made when the Central Bank Act 1942 gave legal effect. The Currency Commission was replaced with Central Bank of Ireland/Banc Ceannais na hÉireann on the notes and the signature of the chairman was replaced with that of Governor/An Ghobharnóir.

Banknotes produced during the Second World War were overprinted with different letters so that particular batches could be identified and removed from circulation if they were lost in transit between the printers in Britain and Dublin. The promise of exchange in London was removed from the notes in 1961. A metal security thread was added to the £1, £5 and £10 notes in 1971.[1]

Series A (1928–1977)[1]
Value	Dimensions (millimetres)	Main Colour	Reverse Design[6]	First Issued	Last Issued
10s[7]	78 × 138	Orange	River Blackwater	10 September 1928	6 June 1968[8]
£1	84 × 151	Green	River Lee	10 September 1928	30 September 1976
£5	92 × 165	Brown	River Lagan	10 September 1928	5 September 1975
£10	108 × 191	Blue	River Bann	10 September 1928	2 December 1976
£20	114 × 203	Red	River Boyne	10 September 1928	24 March 1976
£50	114 × 203	Mauve	River Shannon	10 September 1928	4 April 1977
£100	114 × 203	Olive	River Erne	10 September 1928	4 April 1977†

† No £100 note was issued in Series B.[2] The Series A £100 note remained in use until the Series C £100 note was issued in 1996.[3]

Footnotes

Central Bank of Ireland: Series A (1928 - 1975 / 77) “The Lady Lavery Series”
Central Bank of Ireland: Series B (1976/82 - 1989/ 93)
Central Bank of Ireland: Series C (1992/96 – 2000)
Portrait of Lady Lavery at the National Gallery of Ireland
Watermark Head of Erin. It is an female allegory of Ireland from the sculpture by John Hogan (1800 - 1858), which can be seen in the National Museum.
Heads of the River Gods from the Custom House are identified in Healy, Elizabeth (1998). The Wolfhound Guide to The River Gods. Dublin: Wolfhound Press. ISBN 0-86327-642-3. Healy's identifications are taken from Leask, Harold G. (1945), "Dublin Custom House: The Riverine Sculptures", The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 75 (4): 187–194, JSTOR 25510525.
See also: Irish ten shilling coin
The printing of this note ceased earlier than the rest of the series in preparation for decimalisation, which saw the note replaced, first by a silver 10 shilling coin and later by a 50 pence coin.

External links

Central Bank of Ireland – Notes & Coins Series A

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[CBI_A-1] Central Bank of Ireland: Series A (1928 - 1975 / 77) “The Lady Lavery Series”

[CBI_B-2] Central Bank of Ireland: Series B (1976/82 - 1989/ 93)

[CBI_C-3] Central Bank of Ireland: Series C (1992/96 – 2000)

[4] Portrait of Lady Lavery at the National Gallery of Ireland

[5] Watermark Head of Erin. It is an female allegory of Ireland from the sculpture by John Hogan (1800 - 1858), which can be seen in the National Museum.

[Healy-6] Heads of the River Gods from the Custom House are identified in Healy, Elizabeth (1998). The Wolfhound Guide to The River Gods. Dublin: Wolfhound Press. ISBN 0-86327-642-3. Healy's identifications are taken from Leask, Harold G. (1945), "Dublin Custom House: The Riverine Sculptures", The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 75 (4): 187–194, JSTOR 25510525.

[7] See also: Irish ten shilling coin

[8] The printing of this note ceased earlier than the rest of the series in preparation for decimalisation, which saw the note replaced, first by a silver 10 shilling coin and later by a 50 pence coin.