Scottish Pounds - Curious Currency

Royal Bank of Scotland HQ

Unlike the rest of Britain, Scotland has three banks which are (literally) licensed to print money. In England and Wales, only the Bank of England has such a licence, but in Scotland the Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale Bank each produce their own design of banknotes.

The Bank of Scotland opened for business in 1696, with the Royal Bank of Scotland set up in direct commercial opposition to it in 1726, and the Clydesdale following more than a century later in 1838. The former Bank of Scotland offices are now a museum of money and finance which charts some of this economic history. 

But this all means that in Scotland, for each denomination of currency note - £5, £10, £20 and £50 - you may see up to FOUR different designs! They all use the same sizing and colour scheme for ease of identification, but each bank produces its own themed designs.

---

New polymer plastic banknotes were introduced in the UK in 2016. The new designs incorporate increased security features, are slightly smaller than the older paper notes, and are more durable - no more soggy fivers retrieved from back pockets after accidentally going through the washing machine! 

All the notes are accepted across the UK - Scottish banks have to hold one Bank of England note for each of their own notes that they issue - although south of the border some smaller retailers and self-service payment machines may struggle to accept them. 

To keep things simple, the coins are the same coins used across the rest of the UK, so there shouldn't be any issue with having those accepted...!

Find out more with my private city walking tours!

---