Celtic Rarities Up for Sale at Noonans
The June 25 auction offers notes from Irish history and more.
A very rare and early Irish Free State £50 bank note bearing the portrait of Lady Lavery is expected to fetch in the region of £15,000 in Noonans Mayfair’s sale of British and Irish Banknotes on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 [lot 478].
Andrew Pattison, Head of Banknotes at Noonans, commented: “Since the 1990s, Noonans (and DNW previously) have always offered many of the best Irish bank notes in the world, and this spectacular Irish Free State £50 note is no different and considerably rarer than the £100. This is certainly one of the finest-known examples of this first date for the iconic Lady Lavery series that was to circulate for almost half a century.”
He adds: “It is known as the Lady Lavery note as it depicted the American-born wife of the artist Sir John Lavery on the front with a harp. Lavery had painted the figure as a depiction of Kathleen Ni Houlihan, the mythical figure from Ireland’s past.”
Also in the sale is an extremely rare full set of 7 Ballykinlar Internment Camp tokens, all printed in vibrant colours on circular cards. These date from around 1921, towards the end of the War of Irish Independence, and a full set has not come up for sale for a great many years. A long-term collector of Irish notes is selling them, and estimates range from £400 to £700 [lots 346-352].
For the first time, an exceptionally rare proof £100 note from the Central Bank of Ireland, dating from 1979-80 and featuring a vignette of Grace O’Malley, the 16th-century Irish chieftain, is expected to fetch £2,000-2,600. [lot 501].
As Mr Pattison explains: “It has long been known that this £100 note was designed, and very nearly printed, but no final proofs or specimens showing the obverse have ever come to auction before. This proof is so beautifully designed and so well engraved that it really is a tragedy that it was never put into production, and it may be the only chance to acquire such an important piece of Irish banknote history.”
Also included in the sale will be the first part of the Boyd Family Collection of Scottish Banknotes. Comprising 108 lots, subsequent notes will be offered in every British and Irish auction over the next three years. Among the highlights is an exceptionally rare £1 note from the National Bank of Scotland Limited, dating from 11 November 1880. This is the first example to come to auction in many years and is estimated at £2,000-£2,600 [lot 744].
Within the Bank of England section is an extremely rare and very attractive specimen, £20 from London, dated 7 September 1922, that is expected to fetch £5,000-£7,000 [lot 218]. A trial or proof, which is thought to be unique, for a £5 note for the Manchester branch of the Bank of England, dated 24 January 1852, is estimated at £3,000-£4,000 [lot 200].
This auction also contains some highly unusual examples of specimen Treasury Bills, including two of the 2003 issued and cancelled examples in denominations that the experts at Noonans have never seen before. A £5,000,000 example dating from 8 September 2003 carries an estimate of £6,000-£8,000 [lot 198].
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