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20 Pounds North of Scotland Bank
| Issuer | North of Scotland Bank Limited |
|---|---|
| Year | 1928-1934 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Pounds |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The bank's heraldic arms vignette occupies the left margin, rendered in intaglio with fine cross-hatched guilloche borders framing the entire note. A central vignette at upper centre presents a detailed engraving of Marischal College, Aberdeen, flanked by large denomination numeral '20' counters in each upper corner. The promise-to-pay text is set in a combination of letterpress and script, with the place and date of issue printed at centre, above two manuscript signatures of the Accountant and General Manager. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a large central circular vignette enclosing the bank's full heraldic arms, surrounded by a radiating sunburst guilloche pattern with the statutory inscription running along the outer ring. Denomination numeral '20' appears in ornate counters at all four corners. A vertical guilloche panel with repeated bank lettering occupies the right margin. |
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| Comments |
The North of Scotland Bank Limited, headquartered in Aberdeen, was absorbed into the Clydesdale Bank in 1950 — but during the late 1920s and early 1930s it still maintained its independent note-issuing authority, a privilege Scottish banks have historically defended with considerable tenacity. The £20 denomination was always a low-circulation piece; at a time when a Scottish agricultural laborer earned well under £100 annually, these notes moved primarily between commercial accounts and solicitors' offices rather than through ordinary trade.
Bradbury Wilkinson printed for numerous Scottish provincial banks during this period, and their intaglio work on this series is characteristically tight. Known survivors are genuinely rare — high-denomination Scottish provincials from this window were rarely kept as souvenirs.