10 Pounds Union Bank of Scotland

Union Bank of Scotland's £10 notes from this period occupied a denomination that saw almost no retail use — in Edwardian Scotland, ten pounds represented roughly two weeks' wages for a skilled tradesman, and most examples that left the bank were used for commercial settlement between merchants or factors rather than daily trade. Survival rates reflect this: the notes were handled carefully, often folded once and kept flat, which is why cracking along a single horizontal fold is the most common condition issue with this type.

Waterlow & Sons had been producing Scottish commercial banknotes since the mid-nineteenth century and brought consistent intaglio quality to the series. The watermark security was modest by contemporary standards — the Bank of England was already exploring more sophisticated paper treatments — but adequate for a high-value note unlikely to be counterfeited at volume given its limited circulation pool.