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5 Pounds Sterling
| Issuer | Bank of Scotland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1885 |
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| Value | 5 Pounds Sterling |
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| Obverse description | Brown on cream paper. The left panel carries two circular vignettes — an upper roundel with St. George and the Dragon and a lower roundel with the Bank of Scotland arms — flanked by ornate letterpress borders. The central field bears the Bank's name in large bold capitals, beneath which the promise-to-pay text is set in copperplate script: 'The Governor & Company of the Bank of Scotland Promise to pay here to the Bearer on Demand Five Pounds Sterling.' The denomination £5 appears in both lower corners, with the Secretary's signature and the legend 'By Order of the Court of Directors / Constituted by Act of Parliament 1695' completing the design. A top guilloche band repeats 'FIVE POUNDS' in fine letterpress, and the word 'EDINBURGH' is printed to the upper right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANK OF SCOTLAND The Governor & Company of the Bank of Scotland Promise to pay here to the Bearer on Demand Five Pounds Sterling BY ORDER OF THE COURT OF DIRECTORS SECRETARY CONSTITUTED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT 1695 EDINBURGH £5 |
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| Comments |
Bank of Scotland's private note-issuing rights predate the Bank of England's own monopoly ambitions — Scotland's separate legal system meant Edinburgh banks retained circulation privileges that English provincial banks lost under the 1844 Bank Charter Act. This £5 note from 1885 sits within that tradition of uninterrupted Scottish chartered-bank issue, legal and unrestricted south of the border for those who knew it.
Waterston & Sons were Edinburgh stationers and printers, not a specialist security printing house, which makes their involvement in currency production an interesting local arrangement rather than the obvious choice. Authentication relied heavily on paper quality and the bank's own manuscript signatures of the accountant and cashier — both required on each note at issue.