Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
10 Pounds Sterling
| Issuer | Bank of Scotland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1872-1881 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | The obverse presents a horizontally oriented note with an elaborately engraved border of guilloche work framing the entire composition. To the left, a vertical panel contains two circular vignettes — the upper showing a mounted figure and the lower bearing the Bank of Scotland armorial shield with saltire and the motto 'TANTO UBERIOR' — flanking a central thistle device. The main field carries the bold letterpress legend 'BANK OF SCOTLAND' beneath a central allegorical vignette of classical figures, with the promise text 'THE GOVERNOR & COMPANY OF THE BANK OF SCOTLAND PROMISE TO PAY HERE TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND TEN POUNDS STERLING' in intaglio, the date 'EDINBURGH 8 MAY 1872' at upper right, manuscript serial number, and the closing line 'CONSTITUTED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT 1695' at the base. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | TEN POUNDS BANK OF SCOTLAND THE GOVERNOR & COMPANY OF THE BANK OF SCOTLAND PROMISE TO PAY HERE TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND TEN POUNDS STERLING BY ORDER OF THE COURT OF DIRECTORS CONSTITUTED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT 1695 EDINBURGH TANTO UBERIOR |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Bank of Scotland's £10 notes of this period occupied a curious position: legally, Scottish banknotes were never legal tender in the strict English sense, but they circulated freely by convention and mutual acceptance. The Bank of Scotland had been issuing its own notes since 1695, and by the 1870s its paper was trusted enough that few bothered to question the distinction.
Cotton paper was standard for Scottish issuers of this era, but survivability was poor — these high-value notes passed through relatively few hands before being retired, and the ledger-recording practices at Scottish branches meant most were cancelled with heavy ink or punch holes upon return. Uncancelled examples from this decade are genuinely uncommon.