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20 Pounds Sterling
| Issuer | Bank of Scotland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862-1881 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Pounds Sterling |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Horizontally formatted note with a decorative left border containing two circular vignettes — an equestrian figure at top and the Bank of Scotland coat of arms at bottom — separated by the bank's saltire cross motif and motto. To the right, a central engraved vignette shows the Bank of Scotland arms flanked by allegorical figures, set between the denomination numerals '20' repeated at upper left and right. The promise-to-pay text is rendered in letterpress within a ruled panel, with the issuing city 'EDINBURGH' and date printed at upper right, and a lower panel bearing the £20 denomination and manuscript signatures for Accountant and Treasurer. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely unprinted, presenting a plain white cotton paper surface through which the obverse letterpress and intaglio impressions are visible in mirror image as a show-through. No design elements, vignettes, or text are applied to this side. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Scotland's 19th-century pound notes occupied a peculiar legal position: Scottish banks retained the right to issue their own currency under the terms of the 1845 Bank Notes (Scotland) Act, which fixed each bank's authorized circulation at its 1844 average and required any excess to be backed pound-for-pound by gold or Bank of England notes. A £20 denomination was firmly a commercial instrument — used between merchants and trading houses, not handled by ordinary depositors.
Cotton-based substrate was already standard for Scottish bank paper by this period, sourced domestically rather than from the English suppliers used by the London joint-stock banks. Survival rate for high-denomination Scottish provincials from this window is low; most were cancelled and destroyed by the issuing branch upon redemption.