Description and research notes
This 1940 Northern Bank Limited 1 Pound issued note is a high-grade survivor of the bank's pre-decimal sterling note tradition in Belfast. Dated 1st January 1940 and bearing serial number N-I/H 028711, the note is cataloged as Pick 178b and NR68, the black-prefix and black-serial-number variety recorded for this wartime-period issue. PMG grades the note 67 EPQ Superb Gem Uncirculated, placing it in an exceptional state of preservation for a design usually encountered with handling, folds, teller wear, or circulation toning.
The face is dominated by the dramatic blue ONE counter across the center, a bold security and denomination feature that gives the note immediate visual force. Above it, the Northern Bank Limited title appears in formal engraved lettering, with the bank's establishment date of 1824 printed beneath. The serial number N-I/H 028711 appears at both left and right, reinforcing the black prefix and serial-number designation noted on the PMG label. The Belfast place name anchors the lower border, while the manuscript-style promise-to-pay text preserves the language of a commercial bank obligation payable at the Head Office in Belfast.
The upper central vignette combines maritime and industrial imagery: a sailing vessel, dockside structure, industrial equipment, landscape elements, and the machinery of trade. This imagery connects the note to the commercial world served by Northern Bank Limited, including shipping, manufacturing, linen, engineering, and regional enterprise. The engraved borderwork, denomination panels, and ornamental counters continue the older visual language of private and regional banknote issue, even as the note belongs to the twentieth-century sterling banking environment of Northern Ireland.
The reverse presents a large architectural vignette framed by dense wavy-line security engraving and formal scrollwork. The building scene gives the note institutional weight, balancing the commercial and maritime character of the face with a visual statement of permanence, authority, and banking presence. The reverse engraving also functions as a technical security field, using fine linework and layered patterns that make the note visually rich beyond its simple 1 Pound denomination.
As a PMG 67 EPQ Superb Gem Uncirculated example, this note preserves the design with unusually strong paper quality, centering, and original presentation. Its grade is especially meaningful because issued Northern Ireland private-bank notes of this period were practical working currency, and most survivors passed through ordinary commercial use. This example records the completed issued form of the 1940 Northern Bank Limited 1 Pound black-prefix variety at a level of preservation that gives the design the clarity of an archival specimen while remaining a fully issued banknote.