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1 Pound
| Issuer | Commercial Bank of Scotland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1850 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Pound |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is executed in fine intaglio engraving throughout. At upper centre, a large allegorical vignette presents two classical female figures seated before a castle, surrounded by mercantile and agricultural attributes. The bank title THE COMMERCIAL BANK OF SCOTLAND, INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER arches across the central field, with the promise-to-pay text and a central ONE POUND panel in bold letterpress. To the lower left, an oval portrait of Queen Victoria in crown and robes is set within a guilloche frame, while to the right appears an oval portrait of a military figure in uniform; at lower centre, an engraved vignette of the bank's Edinburgh headquarters facade is flanked by the inscription BY ORDER OF THE COURT OF DIRECTORS, with signature lines for P. CASH'R and P. ACC'T at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE COMMERCIAL BANK OF SCOTLAND INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER ONE POUND Promise to pay to Cunningham or bearer ONE POUND on demand at the Office here Edinburgh BY ORDER OF THE COURT OF DIRECTORS P. CASH'R P. ACC'T |
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| Comments |
W.H. Lizars was primarily known as an engraver and natural history illustrator — the firm handled scientific publications for Audubon and others — but maintained a substantial banknote printing operation serving Scottish provincial banks through the mid-nineteenth century. Their work for the Commercial Bank of Scotland was competent but not especially distinguished among Edinburgh printers of the period.
The Commercial Bank of Scotland was founded in 1810 as a deliberate rival to the established Edinburgh banking houses, backed largely by Whig merchant interests who resented the political conservatism of the Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank. By 1850 it was a well-capitalized institution; it would eventually merge into the National Bank of Scotland in 1959.
Scottish banknote law in 1850 still permitted unlimited note issue above a fixed authorized ceiling — the 1845 Bank Acts that constrained English banks applied differently north of the border.