50 Pounds

Northern Bank Limited was a Belfast-based commercial bank that retained note-issuing rights through the transition to partition and beyond — but this 1918 note predates all of that, placing it in the last years of the Home Rule crisis, wartime price inflation, and the collapse of ordinary commercial confidence across Ireland. A £50 denomination in 1918 was not a note for everyday use; it circulated between merchants, solicitors, and clearing houses, rarely seen by wage earners.

Northern Bank printed locally in Belfast rather than contracting out to one of the London or Edinburgh trade printers, which was unusual for a denomination of this size at this period. That decision keeps the production quality distinctly regional.