1 Pound Sterling

The Royal Bank of Scotland's mid-Victorian pound notes occupied a legally distinct position from their English equivalents — Scottish banks retained the right to issue their own notes under the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845, which froze each bank's authorized circulation at its 1844 average and required any excess to be backed pound-for-pound in gold or Bank of England notes. The Royal Bank's authorized limit under that Act was set at £216,451.

Dating individual examples within the 1855–1865 window typically depends on manuscript date and cashier signature rather than printed typography, as the plate design changed little across the period.