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1 Guinea Bank of Scotland
| Issuer | Bank of Scotland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1818 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black ink by intaglio and letterpress on plain paper. At upper centre, a fine engraved vignette shows a seated classical female figure with a royal crown above, set against a pastoral landscape with trees; the denomination ONE GUINEA is printed in large letters flanking the vignette. The issuer name "Bank of Scotland, Edinburgh" appears in ornate script below the vignette, with the promise-to-pay text rendered in copperplate-style lettering across the body of the note; a bold decorative border runs vertically along the left margin incorporating the words "Bank of Scotland" in Gothic script. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Bank of Scotland Edinburgh The Governor and Company of the BANK OF SCOTLAND Constituted by Act of Parliament promise to pay here on demand to George Sandy or bearer ONE POUND ONE SHILLING STERLING By Order of THE COURT OF DIRECTORS |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Scotland's guinea-denomination notes occupy a narrow historical window. Guinea-based pricing persisted in professional and commercial transactions well into the nineteenth century despite the guinea coin itself having ceased production in 1813, replaced by the sovereign. A banknote denominated in guineas rather than pounds was therefore already something of an anachronism by 1818 — issued to satisfy a specific merchant and professional class that still quoted fees and contracts in guinea terms.
William Home Lizars was primarily known as an engraver and natural history illustrator — his Edinburgh workshop produced plates for scientific publications before and after this commission. The Bank of Scotland relationship was one of his more sustained commercial printing arrangements of the period.