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20 Pounds Union Bank of Scotland
| Issuer | Union Bank of Scotland Limited |
|---|---|
| Year | 1905 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Incorporated by Act of Parliament The Union Bank of Scotland Limited Promise to pay the Bearer on demand at their head offices in Glasgow or Edinburgh Twenty Pounds By order of the Directors |
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| Reverse lettering | The Union Bank of Scotland Limited |
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| Comments |
The Union Bank of Scotland was itself the product of consolidation — it absorbed at least a dozen provincial Scottish banks across the nineteenth century before ultimately merging into the Bank of Scotland in 1955. By 1905, its note-issuing operation was well-established but operating within Scotland's peculiar legal framework, where chartered banks retained the right to issue their own notes long after such privileges had been stripped from English provincial banks under the 1844 Bank Charter Act.
Waterlow & Sons produced the printing, as they did for a significant portion of Scottish commercial bank stationery during this period. The £20 denomination was never a note for ordinary commerce — at a time when a skilled tradesman might earn £60–£80 annually, these circulated almost exclusively between merchants, lawyers, and agents.