50 Pounds Northern Bank

Northern Bank's 2005 series became notorious almost immediately after release — in December 2004, the bank's Belfast headquarters was raided in what remains one of the largest cash robberies in British history, with approximately £26.5 million stolen, much of it in Northern Bank notes. In direct response, the bank took the extraordinary step of withdrawing and redenominating its entire note stock, issuing a replacement series with new designs and serial number prefixes to render the stolen notes worthless.

This 2005 fifty is part of that replacement issue — its existence is a direct consequence of that robbery.