UPDATE: THIS MADE £14,000 at hammer
A rare early Irish £50 note dated September 10, 1928 and featuring Lady Lavery could make up to £15,000 (€17,600) at Noonans in Mayfair on June 25. That was the month when legal tender notes, pegged in value to the pound sterling, came into circulation. It followed a determination by the then Irish Free State in the mid 1920’s to design its own coins and banknotes. Until the advent of the euro three series of legal tender notes were issued by Ireland. The Irish Free State £50 note is considerably rarer than the £100 note. This particular one was described by Andrew Pattison of Noonan’s as: “one of the finest-known examples of this first date for the iconic Lady Lavery series”. A proof £100 note from 1978-79 featuring a vignette of 16th century pirate Grace O’Malley (Granuaile) is estimated at £2,000-£2,600 (€2,350-€3,052).