The Series A banknotes (Irish: Nótaí bainc sraith A) were the first banknotes created by and for the Irish Free State in 1928[1] and continued to be issued when the Free State became the Republic of Ireland. They are considered to "count amongst the most iconic and beautiful of all modern banknotes."[2] 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 banknotes beginning in 1976.[3] 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.[4]
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]
Portrait of Lady Lavery as Kathleen Ni Houlihan (1927) by John Lavery
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.[5] From the description of Lady Lavery's portrait at the National Gallery:
In 1927, [John] Lavery agreed to assist the Currency Commission in the design of the first Free State banknotes. Reworking a portrait of his wife Hazel of 1909, he cast her as Kathleen ni Houlihan, the mythical heroine of W.B. Yeats’splay of 1902, and placed her against a view of the lakes of Killarney. The artist later quoted W.T. Cosgrave, President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, as saying of the banknotes: ‘Every Irishman, not to mention the foreigner who visits Ireland, will carry one next to his heart’.[5]
Portrait of Lady Lavery on a 10 pound Series A banknoteReduced version of Lady Lavery's portrait on a 5 pound Series A banknote
The banknote design placed the portrait on the left of the banknotes, so the image from the painting was reversed to face right. The full portrait appears on the larger £10, £20, £50 and £100 notes but is reduced to a head and shoulders version on the smaller 10s, £1 and £5 notes. The head from the portrait was later used as a watermark on the Series B and Series C banknotes until 2002.[2]
The watermark on all Series A banknotes is the "Head of Erin"[1] taken from the statue, Hibernia with the Bust of Lord Cloncurry (1844), sculpted in Rome by John Hogan and brought to Ireland in 1846.[6] The statue depicts Ireland, represented by the allegorical female figure of Hibernia, also known as “Erin”, with her arm around a bust of Lord Cloncurry. Hogan modeled the female figure after his Italian wife, Cornelia Bevignani.[2] This statue is considered by some authorities to be Hogan’s masterpiece.[7] and "one of the finest examples of Irish neoclassical sculpture".[6] The statue is in the collection of University College Dublin and is located at Belfield House.[6]
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 of 1942[9] 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]
^ abcdefCentral Bank of Ireland: Series A (1928 - 1975 / 77) “The Lady Lavery Series”
^ abcdSpink Special Features: The Story of Hazel, Lady Lavery: The woman behind the banknote classic
^ abCentral Bank of Ireland: Series B (1976/82 - 1989/ 93)
^ abCentral Bank of Ireland: Series C (1992/96 – 2000)
^ abPortrait of Lady Lavery at the National Gallery of Ireland
^ abcUCD Digital Library: Hibernia with the bust of Lord Cloncurry
^Turpin, John (1980), "John Hogan in Dublin", Dublin Historical Record, 34 (1): 2–14, JSTOR 30104219
^ abcHeads of the River Gods from the Custom House are identified in Healy, Elizabeth (1998). The Wolfhound Guide to The River Gods. Dublin: Wolfhound Press. ISBN0-86327-642-3. 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.
^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 linksedit
Central Bank of Ireland – Notes & Coins Series A
Spink Special Features: The Story of Hazel, Lady Lavery: The woman behind the banknote classic
series, banknotes, irish, nótaí, bainc, sraith, were, first, banknotes, created, irish, free, state, 1928, continued, issued, when, free, state, became, republic, ireland, they, considered, count, amongst, most, iconic, beautiful, modern, banknotes, series, kn. The Series A banknotes Irish Notai bainc sraith A were the first banknotes created by and for the Irish Free State in 1928 1 and continued to be issued when the Free State became the Republic of Ireland They are considered to count amongst the most iconic and beautiful of all modern banknotes 2 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 banknotes beginning in 1976 3 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 4 A 1 Series A banknote Contents 1 Banknotes 2 See also 3 Footnotes 4 External linksBanknotes editThe 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 nbsp Portrait of Lady Lavery as Kathleen Ni Houlihan 1927 by John LaveryEach 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 5 From the description of Lady Lavery s portrait at the National Gallery In 1927 John Lavery agreed to assist the Currency Commission in the design of the first Free State banknotes Reworking a portrait of his wife Hazel of 1909 he cast her as Kathleen ni Houlihan the mythical heroine of W B Yeats s play of 1902 and placed her against a view of the lakes of Killarney The artist later quoted W T Cosgrave President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State as saying of the banknotes Every Irishman not to mention the foreigner who visits Ireland will carry one next to his heart 5 nbsp Portrait of Lady Lavery on a 10 pound Series A banknote nbsp Reduced version of Lady Lavery s portrait on a 5 pound Series A banknoteThe banknote design placed the portrait on the left of the banknotes so the image from the painting was reversed to face right The full portrait appears on the larger 10 20 50 and 100 notes but is reduced to a head and shoulders version on the smaller 10s 1 and 5 notes The head from the portrait was later used as a watermark on the Series B and Series C banknotes until 2002 2 The watermark on all Series A banknotes is the Head of Erin 1 taken from the statue Hibernia with the Bust of Lord Cloncurry 1844 sculpted in Rome by John Hogan and brought to Ireland in 1846 6 The statue depicts Ireland represented by the allegorical female figure of Hibernia also known as Erin with her arm around a bust of Lord Cloncurry Hogan modeled the female figure after his Italian wife Cornelia Bevignani 2 This statue is considered by some authorities to be Hogan s masterpiece 7 and one of the finest examples of Irish neoclassical sculpture 6 The statue is in the collection of University College Dublin and is located at Belfield House 6 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 8 Rivers in both the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland were chosen 2 The Currency Commission notes were printed with Currency Commission Coimisiun Airgid Reatha and Irish Free State Saorstat Eireann with facsimiles of the signatures of the Chairman of the Currency Commission Cathaoirleach Choimisiuin an Airgid Reatha and of the Secretary of the Department of Finance Runai na Roinne Airgid When the Constitution of Ireland had legal effect Ireland was substituted for Irish Free State Eire for Saorstat Eireann In 1943 additional changes were made when the Central Bank Act of 1942 9 gave legal effect The Currency Commission was replaced with Central Bank of Ireland Banc Ceannais na hEireann on the notes and the signature of the chairman was replaced with that of Governor An Ghobharnoir 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 8 First issued Last issued10s 10 138 78 Orange River Blackwater 10 September 1928 6 June 1968 11 1 151 84 Green River Lee 10 September 1928 30 September 1976 5 165 92 Brown River Lagan 10 September 1928 5 September 1975 10 191 108 Blue River Bann 10 September 1928 2 December 1976 20 203 114 Red River Boyne 10 September 1928 24 March 1976 50 203 114 Mauve River Shannon 10 September 1928 4 April 1977 100 203 114 Olive River Erne 10 September 1928 4 April 1977 No 100 note was issued in Series B 3 The Series A 100 note remained in use until the Series C 100 note was issued in 1996 4 Heads of river gods 8 on the reverse of Series A banknote denominations nbsp River Blackwater on 10s nbsp River Lee on 1 nbsp River Lagan on 5 nbsp River Bann on 10 nbsp River Boyne on 20 nbsp River Shannon on 50 nbsp River Erne on 100See also editBanknotes of the Republic of IrelandFootnotes edit a b c d e f Central Bank of Ireland Series A 1928 1975 77 The Lady Lavery Series a b c d Spink Special Features The Story of Hazel Lady Lavery The woman behind the banknote classic a b Central Bank of Ireland Series B 1976 82 1989 93 a b Central Bank of Ireland Series C 1992 96 2000 a b Portrait of Lady Lavery at the National Gallery of Ireland a b c UCD Digital Library Hibernia with the bust of Lord Cloncurry Turpin John 1980 John Hogan in Dublin Dublin Historical Record 34 1 2 14 JSTOR 30104219 a b c 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 Irish Statute Book Central Bank Act 1942 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 editCentral Bank of Ireland Notes amp Coins Series A Spink Special Features The Story of Hazel Lady Lavery The woman behind the banknote classicPortals nbsp Ireland nbsp Money nbsp Numismatics nbsp Republic of Ireland Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Series A banknotes amp oldid 1201328832, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
