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1 Guinea = 1 Pound 1 Shilling Sterling
| Issuer | Royal Bank of Scotland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1758 |
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| Currency | Pound sterling (1694-date) |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Nº 409 63390 L. 1. 1. Sterling One Guinea. The Royal Bank of Scotland (pursuant to Act of Parliament and Letters Patent under the Great Seal) is hereby obliged to pay to Secretary, or the Bearer on demand One Pound one Shilling Sterling Edinburgh the twenty fourth day of March One thousand seven hundred and Fifty eight Years. By Order of the Court of Directors |
| 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.