For ease of identification, all three issuing banks in Scotland use the same principal colour for each denomination: Blue for £5, brown for £10, purple for £20, red for £50, and turquoise for £100. This colour scheme is similar to current Bank of England notes (except that the Bank of England does not issue a £100 note). The size of the notes is also consistent across the three Scottish banks and the Bank of England.
Bank of Scotland notes All Bank of Scotland notes bear a portrait of
Sir Walter Scott on the front in commemoration of his 1826
Malachi Malagrowther campaign for Scottish banks to retain the right to issue their own notes. The Bank of Scotland's 2007 series of banknotes is known as the
Bridges of Scotland series. These notes were introduced on 17 September 2007, and show Scotland's most famous bridges on the reverse side. From 2016, the
Bridges of Scotland series is being renewed with the issue of new polymer notes with designs that follow the same basic theme of bridges. The
Tercentenary and 2007 series of notes are being withdrawn from circulation and replaced with the polymer series as these are issued, but older notes continue to be accepted at banks. In line with this, the Committee of Scottish Bankers encouraged the public to spend or exchange non-polymer five and ten pound notes before 1 March 2018, and twenty and fifty pound notes before 30 September 2022 The obverse of the £10 note shows scientist
Mary Somerville, with a quote from her work
The Connection of the Physical Sciences, and
Burntisland beach in the background. The reverse displays two
otters and an excerpt from the poem ‘Moorings’ by
Norman MacCaig. The obverse of the £20 note shows entrepreneur
Catherine Cranston. The reverse shows two
red squirrels and a quote from the
Scots-language poem 'Venus and Cupid' by
Mark Alexander Boyd. The obverse of the £50 note, in red to mirror the
Bank of England £50 notes, depicts educationalist
Flora Stevenson on its obverse and an osprey on the reverse. The previous series of Royal Bank of Scotland notes, originally issued in 1987, is in the process of being replaced by a polymer series: the Committee of Scottish Bankers encouraged the public to spend or exchange non-polymer five and ten pound notes before 1 March 2018, The front of the notes also features an engraving of the bank's former headquarters in
St Andrew Square, Edinburgh. The background
graphic on both sides of the notes is a radial
star design which is based on the ornate ceiling of the banking hall in the old headquarters building. On the back of the notes are images of Scottish castles, with a different castle for each denomination. Occasionally the
Royal Bank of Scotland issues commemorative banknotes. Examples are the £1 note issued to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of
Alexander Graham Bell in 1997, the £20 note for the 100th birthday of
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2000, the £5 note honouring veteran golfer
Jack Nicklaus in his
last competitive Open Championship at
St Andrews in 2005, and the £10 note commemorating HM Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee in 2012. These notes are much sought after by collectors.
Clydesdale Bank notes Clydesdale Bank's polymer series came into circulation in March 2015, when the Clydesdale Bank became the first bank in Great Britain to issue
polymer banknotes. The £5 commemorative notes, issued to mark the 125th anniversary of the construction of the Forth Bridge, contain several new security features including a reflective graphic printed over a transparent window in the banknote. The public were encouraged to spend or exchange non-polymer five and ten pound notes before 1 March 2018 and twenty and fifty pound notes before 30 September 2022. Banknotes of the earlier
Famous Scots Series portray notable Scottish historical people along with items and locations associated with them. The
Clydesdale Bank also occasionally issues special-edition banknotes, such as a £10 note celebrating the bank's sponsorship of the Scotland team at the
2006 Commonwealth Games. Following the announcement of the
CYBG's takeover of
Virgin Money in 2018 and planned phasing-out of the Clydesdale Bank brand by 2021 in favour of Virgin Money, there was uncertainty as to the future of the Clydesdale Bank's banknotes after 2021. In June 2019, the company confirmed that it would continue to issue notes under the Clydesdale Bank name and clarified there would be no change to the design, despite reports that Sir
Richard Branson's face would be added to them. However, they became rarer from 2020 after the bank withdrew from contracts to supply cash machines run by rival lenders, meaning they could no longer be withdrawn from Santander, TSB, Co-op or Asda machines. ==See also==