10 Pounds Sterling

Bank of Scotland's higher-denomination notes from this period were not legal tender in the strict sense — like all Scottish banknotes, they depended on equivalent Bank of England reserves held by the issuing bank, a requirement introduced by the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act of 1845 and still operative throughout this note's entire run. That arrangement made the issuing bank's solvency a live concern rather than an abstract one, and a ten-pound note represented a substantial sum for most of the period covered.

W. Waterston & Sons printed exclusively for Scottish financial institutions, keeping the work entirely within Edinburgh rather than routing commissions south to Bradbury Wilkinson or De La Rue as several rival Scottish banks did.