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

banknote A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commerc ...

. It is the smallest denomination of banknote issued by

Clydesdale Bank Clydesdale Bank () is a trading name used by Clydesdale Bank plc for its retail banking operations in Scotland. In June 2018, it was announced that Clydesdale Bank plc's holding company, CYBG, would acquire Virgin Money for £1.7 billi ...

. The current

polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...

note, first issued in 2015, bears an image of engineer William Arrol on the obverse and an image of the

Forth Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...

on the reverse. It was 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

History

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 The issuing of banknotes by Scottish banks was regulated by the Banknote (Scotland) Act 1845 until it was superseded by the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 ...

. Though not strictly

legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that Standard of deferred payment, courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment in court for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything ...

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 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 Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

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 wha ...

on the front, and an image of the

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

of St Kilda on the back. In 2015 a new

note was introduced, featuring an image of the

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