The Clydesdale Bank £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 Clydesdale Bank. The current

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 ...

note, first issued in 2015, bears an image of engineer William Arrol on the obverse and an image of the Forth Bridge on the reverse. It is the first fully polymer banknote to go into circulation in 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 ...

History

The Clydesdale Bank began issuing £5 notes in 1838, the same year as the bank's founding. 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 The issuing of banknotes by Scottish banks was regulated by the Banknote (Scotland) Act 1845 until it was superseded by the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 fo ...

. Though not strictly legal tender in Scotland, Scottish banknotes are nevertheless legal currency and are generally accepted throughout the

. 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 Clydesdale Bank. Scottish banknotes are not withdrawn in the same manner as Bank of England notes, and therefore several different versions of the Clydesdale five pound note may be encountered, although the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 "Famous Scots" issue of the £5 note featuring Scottish poet Robert Burns was introduced in 1971. On the reverse are images of a field mouse and wild roses, inspired by two of Burns' poems. A "World Heritage" series £5 note was introduced in 2009. This note features a portrait of biologist

Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for discovering the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin. His discovery in 1928 of w ...

on the front, and an image of the

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

of St Kilda on the back. In 2015 a new

note was introduced, featuring an image of the Forth Bridge on the reverse and a portrait of William Arrol, whose firm constructed the bridge, on the obverse. This note was the first British banknote to be made entirely from polymer.

Designs

Information taken from The Committee of Scottish Bankers website.

References

External links

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