Catalog
1 Guinea = 1 Pound 1 Shilling Sterling
| Issuer | Royal Bank of Scotland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1792 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Hand-dated note inscribed 'Edinr. 1st Septr. 1792', with an elaborate calligraphic heading reading 'The Royal Bank of Scotland' surmounted by a small circular vignette of a crowned portrait, likely a royal effigy. The body of the note carries the promise text in copperplate script obligating payment to the bearer on demand of One Pound One Shilling Sterling, by order of the Court of Directors, with two manuscript signatures below. A decorative border of repeated ornamental elements runs along the left margin, and a boxed denomination label reading 'One Guinea' appears in the upper right corner. |
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| Obverse lettering | The Royal Bank of Scotland is hereby obliged to pay to or the Bearer on demand ONE POUND ONE SHILLING Sterling By Order of the Court of Directors |
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| Comments |
The guinea denomination — 21 shillings rather than 20 — was a peculiarity of Scottish private banking practice in the late eighteenth century, used partly to sidestep English restrictions on notes under £1 sterling and partly because guinea-denominated contracts were common in professional and commercial transactions. The Royal Bank of Scotland was chartered by the Crown in 1727, making it one of only two Scottish banks to hold a royal charter, and its notes from this period carried genuine legal weight in a market still crowded with smaller provincial issuers of questionable solvency.
By 1792, hand-to-hand guinea notes were already declining; the denomination was largely phased out across Scottish banking within a decade.