1 Pound Bank of Ireland

The Bank of Ireland received its charter in 1783, but it was the Act of Union in 1800 — merging Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom — that fundamentally changed the bank's position. From 1801 it effectively operated as a quasi-central institution for Ireland, the only joint-stock bank permitted in the country under legislation that would not be revised until 1824. This note was issued during that monopoly window.

Printing in Dublin during this period meant working without the sophisticated intaglio infrastructure available in London. Paper supply was a persistent problem; Irish paper of the era is notably prone to toning and foxing, and surviving examples from this run rarely escape both.