Catalog
1 Guinea = 1 Pound 1 Shilling Sterling
| Issuer | Royal Bank of Scotland |
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| Year | 1758 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Unilateral letterpress note on hand-laid paper, with an engraved oval vignette at upper centre depicting a classical bust in profile, flanked by manuscript serial numbers and the denomination expressed as "L.1.1. Sterling" and "One Guinea" at upper right. The body text, set in copperplate engraving and italic script, reads the full promise-to-pay obligation under Act of Parliament and Letters Patent under the Great Seal, with the place and date of issue — Edinburgh, the twenty fourth day of March, One thousand seven hundred and fifty eight years — inscribed in a flowing hand. The lower portion carries the authorising legend "By Order of the Court of Directors" above two manuscript signatures, with an elaborate calligraphic flourish border running along the left margin. |
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| Reverse description | Plain unprinted reverse on hand-laid paper, showing evidence of vertical and horizontal fold lines consistent with period handling, with scattered foxing and staining typical of an eighteenth-century circulated document. No printed text, vignette, or ornamental device is present. |
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| Comments |
The guinea denomination — one pound one shilling — was an unusual choice for a banknote, rooted in the practical reality of Scottish commercial life in the mid-eighteenth century. Guineas were the standard unit for professional fees, land transactions, and gentlemen's accounts, so a note denominated in guineas allowed merchants and lawyers to settle debts without calculating conversion. The Royal Bank had been issuing notes since 1727, and by the 1750s was already well established in Edinburgh's financial community.
Hand-laid paper of this period was sourced from Scottish mills and carries the characteristic chain-line pattern visible under raking light. Notes from this series are exceptionally rare in any condition — most that survived did so in institutional archives rather than through normal wear.