Leslie O'Brien (1955-1962)

It was in 1960 when L K O’Brien was Chief Cashier that the Bank of England decided to issue notes with the portrait of the reigning monarch Elizabeth II. This was quite a departure because until that point the only illustration on Bank of England notes was of Britannia. Britannia was still featured but this time in a seal which appeared on the back of the notes. The portrait of the young Queen Elizabeth II appeared on the front. There were two regular varieties of the O’Brien Portrait £1 note with the catalogue references of B281 and B282. Here we offer the B281 £1 Note with the prefix A- in Uncirculated condition.

LK O’Brien was the last Chief Cashier to sign the Britannia 10 shillings. It was during his term that the Bank replaced the Britannia design with notes featuring the Queen’s Portrait. (B271) O’Brien Britannia Ten shillings available in Uncirculated.

Known by collectors as the Britannia Blue, this £5 replaced the iconic Bank of England White £5 in 1957. It is one of the most impressive designs of the whole Bank of England series. It had a very short life because, in 1960, the Bank started to introduce notes with the Queen’s portrait for the first time and this series was never completed. A helmeted Britannia is on the front and a lion holding a key is on the back. An iconic note in its own right and available now in A Unc.

It was in 1960 when L K O’Brien was Chief Cashier that the Bank of England decided to issue notes with the portrait of the reigning monarch Elizabeth II. This was quite a departure because until that point the only illustration on Bank of England notes was of Britannia. Britannia was still featured but this time in a seal which appeared on the back of the notes. The portrait of the young Queen Elizabeth II appeared on the front There were two regular varieties of the O’Brien Portrait £1 note with the catalogue references of B281 and B282. Here we offer the first £1 note with the B282 prefix –A in Uncircualted condition

The first Portrait Pound notes were issued by the Bank of England in 1960 when L K O’Brien was Chief Cashier. In those days, when notes were damaged in production, they were replaced from a reserve pile. These ‘replacement’ notes can be identified by the prefix which usually contained the letter M. We are delighted to offer Crisp AUncirculated examples of the Replacement Portrait £1 issued with L K O’Brien’s signature and with the M prefix (B286) Limited availability.

L K O’Brien was Chief Cashier when the Bank of England decided to change the design of its banknotes from the Britannia series to the new Portrait series, which for the first time in the bank’s long history was to feature the portrait of the reigning monarch. This issue we can off er examples of the O’Brien Britannia 10 shillings (B271) and of the Portrait 10 shillings which replaced it in 1960. (B286) The Britannia design was introduced in 1928 under Mahon. The front featured a portrait of Britannia seated and the back a bed of acanthus leaves. The Portrait 10 shilling as its name implies featured a portrait of the young Queen Elizabeth II .The back retained Britannia but as a seated young girl. We off er Fine to Very Fine examples of the Britannia 10/- and Very Fine examples of the Portrait variety. Save when you buy the pair.