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| Issuer | Clydesdale Bank Limited |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
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| Reference(s) | P#209 |
| Obverse description | Intaglio portrait of Adam Smith at left, holding a book and quill, set against an architectural vignette background, rendered in olive-green tones. The denomination numeral '50' appears at right within a guilloche rosette underprint. The date 'Glasgow 1st September 1981' and the facsimile signature of the Chief General Manager appear in the lower centre. |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
Clydesdale Bank printed its own notes at its Glasgow facility — unusual among Scottish commercial banks, most of which relied on outside security printers well into the twentieth century. The 1981 series was produced during a period when the bank was operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Midland Bank, a relationship that generated periodic political friction over whether English ownership of a Scottish note-issuing institution was appropriate.
A.R.H. Macmillan served as General Manager, not Governor — the Scottish chartered banks used different officer titles than their English counterparts, and Macmillan's signature on a high-denomination note reflects that institutional structure rather than any central banking authority.