PREVIEW: BRITISH & IRISH BANKNOTES 12 OCTOBER

As the Isle of Man government prepared to introduce its own note issue in 1961, all the note issue licences for the island’s commercial banks were rescinded, ending a rich history and variety of issues dating back more than a century.

This auction provides a fascinating snapshot of that history, with several Manx notes on offer with healthy estimates.

 

In 1817 legislation was passed to clamp down on the widespread practice of tradesmen issuing their own notes for minor sums on the Isle of Man. From then, licences for issuing notes were limited to five banks. By 1826, one of those was Forbes Bank, established from the banking firm of Wulff & Forbes in the capital Douglas.

A year later the bank converted to the Isle of Man Joint Stock Taking Bank, and it was under this name that the £1 note in this auction, dated 22 June 1829, was issued for John Wulff & Edward Forbes.

Forbes, father of the celebrated Manx naturalist of the same name, was the manager, and to this day it is unclear whether his bank had been solvent at the time of the conversion, when its listed capital of £50,000 was issued in £5 shares.

Whatever its state then, by 1843 it failed as a result of fraud, with unsecured debts running into what appeared to be hundreds of thousands of pounds, a disastrous scandal for the island and its population.

Today, 190 years later, another Forbes Bank – with no connection to the former – operates on the Isle of Man.

The 1829 note, with serial number J172, and the signature of both partners, carries an estimate of £1,500-2,000.

Other Manx-related highlights in the sale include a Lancashire & Yorkshire Bank Ltd, Manx Bank branch, £1, 31 March 1906. With the serial number 05352, and Milner and Hall signatures, this is a very rare note especially with this earlier date and is expected to fetch £4,000-6,000.

A One Guinea note from Beatson, Copeland & Co., Douglas Isle of Mann, dated 14 September 1813, has no signatures or serial numbers, but does carry an engraving of one of the island’s historic towers, possibly the one at Peel Castle, and carries hopes of £1,200-1,800.

Two beautifully engraved Isle of Mann Commercial Banking Company £1 notes, both dated 1 May 1848, are also on offer. The first has the serial number A5865, and the signature of Dickie-Jackson, with a PAID hand stamp. It is pitched at £1,000-1,500. The second, issued for Jackson & Karran, has the serial number A12694, and the signatures of both partners, with a black PAID stamp. Its estimate is £800-1,200.

The engravings were by the Scottish painter, engraver and publisher William Home Lizars (1788-1859), the initial publisher of J.J. Audubon’s Birds of America, which set a record for a printed book at auction with a price of more than £7.3 million in 2010.

The Manx engravings are also seen on a Bank of Mona £1 note on offer here. A uniface proof on card, but uninscribed, it carries the date prefix 18- and should sell for £1,500-2,000. Apart from the bank title, this essay has the same design as that of the Isle of Mann Banking Company. Some of the assets of that failed bank were acquired by the City of Glasgow Bank prior to opening its own branches on the island under the trading title of Bank of Mona.