Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
5 Pounds Clydesdale Bank
| Issuer | Clydesdale Bank Limited |
|---|---|
| Year | 1882-1921 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | The Clydesdale Bank Limited Promise to pay to the Bearer on Demand Five Pounds Sterling By order of the Directors Glasgow |
| Reverse description | Reverse is plain and unprinted. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Clydesdale Bank was founded in Glasgow in 1838 and for much of the nineteenth century operated in direct competition with the established Edinburgh-based banks, which regarded it with some suspicion. The right to issue its own notes was central to that independence. This 5 Pound note belongs to a series spanning nearly four decades — an unusually long run that reflects both the conservative nature of Scottish provincial banking and the relative stability of the Clydesdale's balance sheet through the period.
Scottish banknote issues of this era were not backed by the Bank of England in the way English notes were, but by the issuing bank's own assets and reputation. A failed Scottish bank meant its notes became worthless, which is why public confidence in the issuer mattered far more in Scotland than south of the border.