The pound sterling is the official currency of the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Tristan da Cunha.
Ireland has a history of trading its own banknotes for several centuries, both when the whole of Ireland was one legal entity, and following partition of the island into the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Notes have been issued by individual banks and by state agencies of the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Currently, various commercial banks in Northern Ireland locally issue notes of the Pound sterling, while the Central Bank of Ireland, in the Republic of Ireland, issues local euro banknotes.
Banknotes have been issued for use specifically in Northern Ireland since 1929, and are denominated in pounds sterling. They are legal currencies, but technically not legal tender anywhere. This is not uncommon as most bank notes are not recognised as tender. However, the banknotes are still widely accepted as currency by larger merchants and institutions elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Issuing banks have been granted legal rights to issue currency, and back the notes with deposits at the Bank of England.
The Bank Charter Act 1844, sometimes referred to as the Peel Banking Act of 1844, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed under the government of Robert Peel, which restricted the powers of British banks and gave exclusive note-issuing powers to the central Bank of England. It is one of the Bank of England Acts 1694 to 1892.
Banknotes of Scotland are the banknotes of the pound sterling that are issued by three Scottish retail banks and in circulation in Scotland. The Bank of Scotland, the oldest bank operating in the country, was the first bank in Europe to successfully print its own banknotes in 1695. The issuing of banknotes by retail banks in Scotland is subject to the Banking Act 2009, which repealed all earlier legislation under which banknote issuance was regulated, and the Scottish and Northern Ireland Banknote Regulations 2009. Currently, three retail banks are allowed to print notes for circulation in Scotland: Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale Bank.
The Bank of Scotland £20 note is a sterling banknote. It is the third largest of five banknote denominations issued by the Bank of Scotland. The current polymer note, first issued in 2020, bears the image of Walter Scott on the obverse and a vignette of the Forth Bridge on the reverse.
The Bank of Scotland £50 note is a sterling banknote. It is the second largest of five banknote denominations issued by the Bank of Scotland. The current polymer note, first issued in 2021 bears the image of Walter Scott on the obverse and a vignette of the Falkirk Wheel and The Kelpies on the reverse.
The Bank of Scotland £100 note is a sterling banknote. It is the largest of five banknote denominations issued by the Bank of Scotland. The current polymer note, first issued in 2022 bears the image of Walter Scott on the obverse and Flora Murray on the reverse.
The Royal Bank of Scotland £5 note, also known as a fiver, is a sterling banknote. It is the second smallest denomination of banknote issued by The Royal Bank of Scotland. The current polymer note, first issued in 2016, bears an image of author Nan Shepherd on the obverse and a pair of mackerel on the reverse.
The Royal Bank of Scotland £10 note, also known as a tenner, is a sterling banknote. It is the third smallest denomination of banknote issued by The Royal Bank of Scotland. The current polymer note, first issued in 2017, bears a portrait of scientist Mary Somerville on the front and a pair of otters on the reverse.
The Royal Bank of Scotland £20 note is a sterling banknote. It is the third largest denomination of banknote issued by The Royal Bank of Scotland. The current polymer note, first issued in 2020, bears the image of Catherine Cranston on the obverse and a vignette depicting a pair of Red Squirrels on the reverse.
The Royal Bank of Scotland £50 note is a sterling banknote. It is the second largest denomination of banknote issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland. The current polymer note, first issued in 2021 bears an image of Flora Stevenson on the obverse and two ospreys, a mackerel and lady's bedstraw on the reverse.
The Royal Bank of Scotland £100 note is a sterling banknote. It is the largest denomination of banknote issued by The Royal Bank of Scotland. The current cotton note, first issued in 1987, bears an image of Lord Ilay, one of the founders of the bank, on the obverse, and a vignette of Balmoral Castle on the reverse.
The Royal Bank of Scotland £1 note is a sterling banknote. The current cotton note, first issued in 1987, bears an image of Lord Ilay, one of the founders of the bank, on the obverse, and a vignette of Edinburgh Castle on the reverse.
The Clydesdale Bank £5 note, also known informally as a fiver, is a sterling banknote. It is the smallest denomination of banknote issued by Clydesdale Bank. The current polymer 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 was the first fully polymer banknote to go into circulation in the United Kingdom.
The Clydesdale Bank £10 note, also known informally as a tenner, is a sterling banknote. It is the second smallest denomination of banknote issued by Clydesdale Bank. The current polymer note, first issued in 2017, bears an image of Scottish poet Robert Burns on the obverse and a vignette of the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh on the reverse.
The Clydesdale Bank £20 note is a sterling banknote. It is the third largest denomination of banknote issued by Clydesdale Bank. The current polymer note, first issued in 2020, bears a portrait of the Scottish king Robert the Bruce on the obverse and an image of the islands of St Kilda on the reverse.
The Clydesdale Bank £50 note was a sterling banknote. Until its withdrawal it was the second largest denomination of banknote issued by the Clydesdale Bank. The last cotton note, first issued in 2009 bears a portrait of Elsie Inglis, founder of the Scottish Women's Hospitals, on the obverse and an image of the Antonine Wall on the reverse.
The Clydesdale Bank £100 note is a sterling banknote. It is the largest denomination of banknote issued by Clydesdale Bank. The current cotton note, first issued in 2009 bears a portrait of the designer and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh on the obverse and images of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney on the reverse.
The Bank of England £100,000,000 note, also referred to as Titan, is a non-circulating Bank of England sterling banknote used to back the value of Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes. It is the highest denomination of banknote printed by the Bank of England. As both Scotland and Northern Ireland have banknotes issued by particular local banks, the non-circulating notes provide the essential link between those banknotes and that of England and Wales, and security if a local issuing bank were to fail.
