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20 Pounds Sterling
| Issuer | North of Scotland Banking Company |
|---|---|
| Year | 1836 |
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| Currency | Pound sterling (1694-date) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse presents a finely engraved vignette of a Gothic-style castle or bank building at the top centre, flanked by the denomination numerals "TWENTY" and "POUNDS" in ornate lettered panels. To the lower left, a classical allegorical female figure is seated beside a harbour scene with sailing vessels, while a corresponding allegorical figure to the lower right is surrounded by agricultural produce, both rendered in detailed intaglio engraving. The central text panel carries the promise-to-pay inscription within a guilloche-bordered frame, with manuscript spaces for the place name "Aberdeen", date, serial number, and signatures for Accountant and Manager. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | TWENTY POUNDS THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND BANKING COMPANY Promise to pay the Bearer on demand TWENTY POUNDS Sterling at their Office here. By order of the Directors Aberdeen Accountant Manager |
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| Comments |
The North of Scotland Banking Company was established in Aberdeen in 1836 — the same year this note was issued — making early examples from this series effectively inaugural paper from a newly chartered institution. Scottish free banking was still operating under its pre-1845 framework at this point, meaning the bank could issue notes largely on its own terms before the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act imposed tighter constraints on new issuers.
Twenty-pound notes from Scottish provincial banks of this period rarely circulated in any meaningful volume. The denomination was a commercial instrument, moving between merchants and agents rather than through everyday trade. Survival rates reflect that: handled rarely, but not always carefully stored.
The bank was eventually absorbed by Clydesdale Bank in 1950 after 114 years of independent operation.