1 Pound Sterling

The Bank of Scotland's £1 notes of this period occupied uneasy commercial ground — the Scottish free banking era had ended with the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act of 1845, which froze each bank's authorized note issuance at its existing level. The Bank of Scotland was therefore issuing within a fixed statutory ceiling, competing against the British Linen Bank, the Royal Bank, and several others all printing their own pound notes simultaneously under the same regulatory framework.

W. Waterston & Sons were a Edinburgh-based stationery and printing firm, not one of the major security printers. Their use here rather than Perkins Bacon or a Continental house is worth noting — Scottish banks of this era often favored local suppliers with whom they had established relationships and auditable access controls.