The Bank of Scotland £50 note 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 second largest of five banknote denominations 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, first issued in 2021 bears the image 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 ...

on the obverse and a vignette of the

Falkirk Wheel The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Tamfourhill, Falkirk, in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part o ...

and

The Kelpies ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

on the reverse.

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 The issuing of banknotes by Scottish banks was regulated by the Banknote (Scotland) Act 1845 until it was superseded by the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 The Banking Act 2009 (c 1) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that entered into force in part on the 21 February 2009 in order, amongst other things, to replace the Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008. The Act makes provision f ...

. 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 ...

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 ...

. Scottish banknotes are fully backed such that holders have the same level of protection as those holding genuine Bank of England notes. The £50 note is currently the second largest of five denominations of banknote issued by the Bank of Scotland. The Tercentenary series of Bank of Scotland notes was introduced in 1995, and is named for the three hundredth anniversary of the bank's founding, which occurred in that year. Each note features a portrait of

on the front. The £50 note has a triangle on the front (other denominations having different shapes) to aid identification for those with impaired vision. The back features an image of

The Mound The Mound is an artificial slope in central Edinburgh, Scotland, which connects Edinburgh's New and Old Towns. It was formed by dumping around 1,501,000 cartloads of earth excavated from the foundations of the New Town into Nor Loch which wa ...

, the location of the bank's headquarters. Each denomination also features a rear design reflecting a certain aspect of Scottish industry and society. On the £50 note the rear design represents Scotland's achievements in art and culture. Three symbols appear 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 Britis ...

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 ''saltatori ...

with gold bezants (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 is unchanged, and Walter Scott remains on the obverse. The image of The Mound was moved to the front and a new rear design featuring the

appears. The text has been updated to a more modern style and new large, raised numerals act as an aid for the partially sighted. On 1 July 2021, 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 ...

£50 note was introduced to replace the paper notes, featuring the

and

. Unlike the paper note, it is red instead of green.

Designs

Information taken from The Committee of Scottish Bankers website.

References

External links

The Committee of Scottish Bankers website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bank of Scotland 50 note Banknotes of Scotland Fifty-base-unit banknotes Bank of Scotland