The Bank of Scotland £5 note, also known informally as a fiver, is a sterling

banknote A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes w ...

. It is the smallest denomination of banknote issued by the

Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by th ...

. The current

polymer note Polymer banknotes are banknotes made from a synthetic polymer such as biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP). Such notes incorporate many security features not available in paper banknotes, including the use of metameric inks. Polymer banknote ...

, first issued in October 2016, bears the image of

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

on the obverse and a vignette of the

Brig o' Doon The Brig o' Doon, sometimes called the Auld Brig or Old Bridge of Doon, is a late medieval bridge in Ayrshire, Scotland, and a Category A structure. History The word ''brig'' is Scots for "bridge", hence the ''Brig o' Doon'' is the "Bridge ...

on the reverse. The polymer replaces a cotton note also featuring a portrait of Sir Walter Scott.

History

Paper currency was introduced in Scotland immediately following the foundation of the

in 1695. Early banknotes were monochrome, and printed on one side only. The issuing of banknotes by Scottish banks was regulated by the Banknote (Scotland) Act 1845 until it was superseded by the Banking Act 2009. Though strictly not

legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in pa ...

in Scotland, Scottish banknotes are nevertheless legal currency and are generally accepted throughout the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Scottish banknotes are fully backed such that holders have the same level of protection as those holding genuine Bank of England notes. The £5 note is currently the smallest denomination of banknote issued by the Bank of Scotland. Scottish banknotes are not withdrawn in the same manner as Bank of England notes, and therefore several different versions of the Bank of Scotland five pound note may be encountered, although the Committee of Scottish Bankers encouraged the public to spend or exchange older, non-polymer five pound notes before 1 March 2018. The Tercentenary series of Bank of Scotland notes was introduced in 1995, and was named for the three hundredth anniversary of the bank's founding, which occurred in that year. Each note featured a portrait of

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

on the front. The £5 note had a circle on the front (other denominations having different shapes) to aid identification for those with impaired vision. The back featured an image of

The Mound The Mound is an artificial slope in central Edinburgh, Scotland, which connects Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New and Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Towns. It was formed by dumping around 1,501,000 cartloads of earth excavated from the foundations ...

, the location of the bank's headquarters. Each denomination also featured a rear design reflecting a certain aspect of Scottish industry and society. On the £5 note the rear design represented the oil and energy industry. Three symbols appeared on the right-hand side of the rear of the note. These are (from top to bottom)

Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pa ...

, goddess of weaving (symbol of the

British Linen Bank The British Linen Bank was a commercial bank based in the United Kingdom. It was acquired by the Bank of Scotland in 1969 and served as the establishment's merchant bank arm from 1977 until 1999. History Foundation The Edinburgh-based British ...

which merged with the Bank of Scotland in 1971), a

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltator ...

with gold

bezants In the Middle Ages, the term bezant (Old French ''besant'', from Middle Latin, Latin ''bizantius aureus'') was used in Western Europe to describe several gold coins of the east, all derived ultimately from the Solidus (coin), Roman ''solidus''. ...

(part of the bank's coat of arms), and ship (symbol of the

Union Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by the ...

which merged with the Bank of Scotland in 1955). The Bridges series of banknotes was introduced in 2007 to replace the Tercentenary series. The size and colour remain was unchanged, and Walter Scott remained on the obverse. The image of The Mound was moved to the front and a new rear design featuring the

appeared. The text was updated to a more modern style and new large, raised numerals acted as an aid for the partially sighted. In June 2016 the design was unveiled for a new

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

£5 note, which was available from 4 October onwards. The new note is the same size as the polymer

Bank of England £5 note The Bank of England £5 note, also known as a fiver, is a sterling banknote . It is the smallest denomination of banknote currently issued by the Bank of England. In September 2016, a new polymer note was introduced, featuring the image of Qu ...

. It continues to feature Walter Scott on the front, and also features The Mound on both sides, appearing alongside the Brig o' Doon on the reverse.

Designs

Information taken from The Committee of Scottish Bankers website.

References

External links

The Committee of Scottish Bankers website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bank of Scotland 5 note Banknotes of Scotland Five-base-unit banknotes Bank of Scotland