Catalog
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| Issuer | Clydesdale Bank PLC |
|---|---|
| Year | 1985-1991 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Pound sterling (decimalized, 1971-date) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Portrait vignette of Lord Kelvin seated at left, rendered in intaglio against a fine guilloche underprint in red and orange tones. The bank title "CLYDESDALE BANK PLC" appears at upper centre-right, with the denomination stated as "ONE HUNDRED POUNDS STERLING" in large letterpress text, and a circular £100 value medallion at upper right. A signature of the Chief General Manager with the Glasgow date appears at lower right beneath the numeral "100" guilloche rosette. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Lord Kelvin's portrait; embedded security thread running vertically through the note |
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| Comments |
Clydesdale Bank's right to issue its own sterling notes is one of the more curious survivals in British banking law — a privilege retained under the 1845 Banking Act (Scotland) and never revoked despite repeated rounds of UK banking consolidation. By 1985, the bank was a subsidiary of Midland Bank, which itself would pass to HSBC in 1992, yet the Scottish issuing right traveled intact through every ownership change.
The £100 denomination saw almost no retail circulation — high-value Scottish notes of this period functioned largely as interbank instruments and were frequently returned to the issuer uncirculated. Genuine used examples from this series are harder to find than their print runs would suggest.