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Early Irish Banknotes: Beresford & Co, Dublin (1794-1810)

Introduction:

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, there were hundreds of small banks issuing their own paper money. Due to the monopoly enjoyed by the Bank of Ireland (a quasi-central bank), they tended to stay small and under-capitalised.

Beresford’s Bank, however, grew to be one of the largest and, by 1803, circulated an average of £700-800,000 worth of banknotes p.a. – a massive sum in…