Notes from Northern Ireland After the Partition of Ireland in 1921, notes began to be issued which were for exclusive use in the Republic as well as notes exclusively for use in Northern Ireland. For a while, commercial banks were able to issue notes in the Republic under the special Ploughman notes scheme. This came to an end around the time of the 2nd World War.The commercial banks withdrew their operations to Belfast and the Northern province of Ulster. Bank of England notes currently circulate alongside notes from the commercial banks. There are four banks issuing notes for circulation in Northern Ireland today. These are: The Bank of Ireland The First Trust Bank The Northern Bank The Ulster Bank All banks followed the Bank of England's lead and discontinued the £1 note. The note issue today ranges from the £5 to the £100 note. It is somewhat the Cinderella of the British series but this has a lot to do with the fact that there is currently no comprehensive catalogue available on the subject. Other banks issuing notes in the 20th century were: Allied Irish Banks Belfast Banking Company The National Bank The Provincial Bank of Ireland Notes from the Republic of Ireland The Republic of Ireland is not part of the British Isles but links in the past have been close and it is not unusual for collectors to include Republic notes in their collection. The Republic of Ireland started issuing notes in 1928. The Irish Free State was established in December 1921. Ireland was a part of the British Commonwealth until 1949. The first design series lasted until 1976 and was basically the same design with modifications to the titles on each denomination. These are known as the Lady Lavery series because of the illustration of a young woman on the fronts, based on the wife of the portrait painter Sir John Lavery. Denominations were issued from the 10 shillings to the £100. From 1928 until 1937 the notes were headed Currency Commission Irish Free State, from 1938-39 Currency Commission Ireland , from 1941-1944 Currency Commission of Ireland and from 1945 Central Bank of Ireland. Between 1929 and 1939 there was a special issue of notes from private commercial banks under the general heading Currency Commission Consolidated Bank Note issue. This is often referred to as the Ploughman issue. They are scarce and highly sought after. Until 1960 Republic notes were also payable in London. In 1976 a new design series was issued. This lasted until 1992 when the current series was introduced. While there are many varieties in the Republic series, collectors can fairly easily obtain type examples of all the designs issued since 1928. Notes from the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey The islands of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have issued their own notes for over several hundred years. They currently issue notes from the £1- £50 in value and follow the sizes of the notes issued by the Bank of England. The note issue has been much smaller than for the British mainland and English notes do circulate alongside their own. They maintain a proud tradition of issuing notes. The most easily obtainable are those issued since 1960. Prior to this date they become scarcer. All islands had interesting and scarce World War II issues. Jersey and Guernsey were occupied by the Germans and the Isle of Man was used to house internees. They make an interesting area for any collector because there are fewer varieties needed to collect to complete a series. Quarmby's Reference book on the issues of the Isle of Man is THE book on the subject. The Standard Catalog of World Paper Money Vols 2 & 3 are the best up to date references for Jersey and Guernsey.