5 Pounds Northern Bank

Northern Bank Limited operated as a commercial bank in Northern Ireland, and this 1968 issue was printed by Perkins, Bacon — a firm with deep roots in security printing, best known internationally for producing the world's first adhesive postage stamps in 1840. By the late 1960s, Perkins Bacon was losing ground to larger competitors and would exit banknote printing entirely within a decade.

Northern Ireland's note-issuing commercial banks operated under a unique arrangement that persisted through the Troubles and well beyond decimalisation, making issues from this transitional pre-decimal period worth tracking carefully by date.