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Promissory Bond - 20 Dollars
| Issuer | Republic of Ireland (Fenian Brotherhood) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1866-1867 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 205 x 100 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THIS NATIONAL BOND OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND Twenty Dollars CERTIFIES THAT THE REPUBLIC REDEEMABLE REGISTER AGENT of the REPUBLIC CONTINENTAL BANK NOTE Co NEW YORK BARRY WTCOMEY |
| Reverse description | Entirely engraved in green, the reverse carries an elaborate guilloche underprint of repeating floral and lace-pattern motifs forming a large scalloped cartouche. At center, a rectangular panel bears the inscription 'Republic of Ireland' in bold Gothic blackletter script. No portraits or other vignettes are present. |
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| Comments |
The Fenian Brotherhood issued these bonds during the period immediately surrounding the 1866 raids into Canada — an audacious attempt to seize Canadian territory and hold it as leverage against Britain for Irish independence. The bonds were sold to Irish-American supporters as a funding mechanism, promising repayment upon the establishment of a free Irish republic. That republic never came, and redemption was never possible.
Continental Bank Note Company, active in New York through 1878, printed the bonds with the same commercial finish they applied to legitimate securities — a deliberate choice intended to project credibility to donors already skeptical of whether their money would accomplish anything.