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20 Pounds Sterling
| Issuer | Bank of Scotland |
|---|---|
| Year | 2019 |
| Type | Vouchers |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse carries a sweeping panoramic vignette of the Forth Bridge rendered in blue and purple hues, with the Forth Rail Bridge's distinctive cantilever structure dominating the left half of the design. A central guilloche background frames a second view of the Bank of Scotland headquarters on The Mound in golden tones, while the recurring transparent window at right repeats the holographic dome and classical figure motif with the denomination '20' and 'TWENTY POUNDS STERLING' in vertical lettering. Excerpts of poetry are inscribed in the upper and lower margins, and 'Forth Bridge' is lettered in the lower left field. |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Clear polymer substrate provides base-level security; transparent window at left incorporates a blue holographic image of the Bank of Scotland dome with a standing classical figure; additional security features are embedded within the polymer film. |
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| Comments |
Bank of Scotland's polymer £20 arrived as part of the broader UK transition away from cotton-linen paper notes — a shift that put Scottish commercial banks in an unusual position, since they issue their own notes under a system that requires them to hold equivalent Bank of England notes or coin as backing. That arrangement, unchanged since the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954, means Scottish banknotes are technically promissory notes rather than legal tender even within Scotland.
De La Rue's Edinburgh facility handled production, keeping the print run domestically sourced. Polymer adoption across the Scottish commercial issuers happened later than the Bank of England's own polymer rollout, which had begun with the Churchill £5 in 2016.