THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND

The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba,) is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of the The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, and together with NatWest and Ulster Bank, provides branch banking facilities throughout the British Isles. The Royal Bank of Scotland has around 700 branches, mainly in Scotland though there are branches in many larger towns and cities throughout England and Wales. The Royal Bank of Scotland and its parent, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, are completely separate from the fellow Edinburgh based bank, the Bank of Scotland, which pre-dates The Royal Bank of Scotland by 32 years. The Bank of Scotland was effective in raising funds for the Jacobite Rebellion and as a result, The Royal Bank of Scotland was established to provide a bank with strong Hanoverian and Whig ties.

The bank traces its origin to the Society of the Subscribed Equivalent Debt, which was set up by investors in the failed Company of Scotland to protect the compensation they received as part of the arrangements of the 1707 Acts of Union. The "Equivalent Society" became the "Equivalent Company" in 1724, and the new company wished to move into banking. The British government received the request favourably as the "Old Bank", the Bank of Scotland, was suspected of having Jacobite sympathies. Accordingly, the "New Bank" was chartered in 1727 as the Royal Bank of Scotland, with Archibald Campbell, Lord Ilay, appointed its first governor.
On 31 May, 1728, the Royal Bank of Scotland invents the overdraft, one of the most versatile and imaginative innovations in modern banking. It allows a William Hogg, merchant in the High Street Edinburgh, to take out of his account up to £1000 (£65,449 in today's value) more than he has in it.

(Wikipedia ) for more in depth info see here

THE BANK OF SCOTLAND

The Bank of Scotland plc is a commercial and clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. With a history dating to the 17th century, it is the second oldest surviving bank (the Bank of England having been established one year before) in what is now the United Kingdom, and is the only commercial institution created by the Parliament of Scotland to remain in existence. It was also the first bank in Europe to print its own banknotes; it continues to print its own sterling banknotes under legal arrangements which allow some UK banks to issue currency.
On 17 September 2007, The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland became Bank of Scotland plc, as part of the HBOS Group Reorganisation Act 2006.
Since 19 January 2009, the Bank of Scotland has formed a key part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB Group.

(Wikipedia) more info here

THE BRITISH LINEN BANK

The British Linen Bank was a commercial bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was acquired by the Bank of Scotland in 1969 and served as the Bank's merchant bank arm from 1977 until 1999.

The Bank's former Head Office in St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, now offices of the Bank of Scotland.
The Bank traces its roots to the creation of the British Linen Company which was formed in 1746 by a Royal Charter from King George II. Although a Scottish organisation, the prefix "British" was used instead of Scottish due to the suspicion aroused by all things Scottish after the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The initial aim of the Company was to promote the linen industry, although it soon moved into banking and issued its first notes in 1747.[1] In 1837, the Company acquired the Paisley Banking Company.
Originally based in Edinburgh, the Company began to expand throughout Scotland, opening 9 branches outside the capital. In 1906 it formally changed its name to the British Linen Bank.

( Wikipedia )

CLYDESDALE AND NORTH OF SCOTLAND BANK

Clydesdale Bank was founded in Glasgow in 1838. Clydesdale later expanded throughout Scotland, and later became the first Scottish bank to open branches in the north of England. In 1919 Midland Bank acquired Clydesdale Bank. In 1950 Midland Bank merged Clydesdale with the North of Scotland Bank which it acquired in 1926.
The Midland Bank later sold its UK subsidiaries, including Clydesdale Bank, to NAB in 1987. The bank became part of NAB's UK and Irish subsidiaries including Northern Bank in Northern Ireland and National Irish Bank (N.I.B.) in the Republic of Ireland. In 1990 Yorkshire Bank also became part of the group.
In the 1970s Clydesdale Bank became a pioneer in the use of automated banking, including the widespread introduction of "AutoBank" ATMs and keypads at branch counters. A new corporate identity (with a new "CB" logo and a mustard-yellow colour scheme) was also introduced.

(wikipedia ) more info here

THE UNION BANK OF SCOTLAND

Union Bank of Scotland (1830-1955)

The Glasgow Union Banking Company

The Union Bank of Scotland was established as the Glasgow Union Banking Company, in 1830. It was the first of a number of joint-stock banks set up in the city at that time.
Its capital was set at £2 million, divided into 8,000 shares of £250. More than half the subscription was raised at the first General Meeting, in February 1830.  Detailed analysis reveals that more than 80% of shareholders were based in Glasgow and the west. They were predominantly from the mercantile and manufacturing classes.
The bank's business grew rapidly between 1836 and 1843, primarily as a result of amalgamations. These included the Thistle Bank, Sir William Forbes, James Hunter and Company, the Paisley Union Bank, Hunters and Company of Ayr and the Glasgow and Ship Bank.


In consequence of these mergers, the Company changed its name in May 1843, becoming the Union Bank of Scotland.  This name change reflected the Bank's now national status, both in terms of its geographical reach and its impressive balance sheet. Further amalgamations followed in 1849 (the Aberdeen Banking Company) and 1857 (Perth Banking Company)..




In 1919, it became one of eight banks in the UK to subscribe to the British Overseas Bank. The Union Bank's general manager was appointed chairman of the new body. This left a vacancy that was quickly filled by Norman Hird. He was to become the dominant figure in the Bank for the next 25 years. Aged only 34, Hird was extremely capable. But for all his efforts, it was soon evident that the Bank was in difficulties. Its fortunes were inextricably linked with the rise and fall of heavy industry. It had lent extensively to this sector, which lurched from crisis to crisis for much of the inter-war period.
Despite these troubles, a grand new head office was opened in 1927, at 110 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow. The building was designed by architect James Miller, under the influence of Norman Hird. The latter had travelled extensively in the United States, and was impressed by the architecture of American banks, particularly those on Wall Street in New York.
In the 1930s, the Union Bank explored the possibility of a merger with Bank of Scotland. These early discussions came to nothing, but in 1950, serious negotiations began.  Agreement was reached two years later, and the banks merged in 1955. The St. Vincent Street building became Bank of Scotland's chief office in Glasgow.

(from Lloyds banking group)

The National Commercial bank of Scotland LTD was formed in 1959, through the merger of the National Bank of Scotland and the Commercial Bank of Scotland. This is a one pound (£1) from 1961. it has an image of the Forth Rail Bridge near Edinburgh. today the Forth Road Bridge would be in the background which was opened in 1964.

NATIONAL BANK OF SCOTLAND

Nowadays, there are only 3 Scottish banks but in the past there have been many more. The local issuing banks of the past are quite hard to come by and therefor fairly expensive. So my collection includes 8 of the major ones. i’ll give you a short history of each one and usually a link where you can see more for yourself.

First up is The National Bank Of Scotland. The scan above is a one pound (£1) note from March 1957 and the previous post has a scan of the five pound note (£5) (september 1948), which is one of the biggest notes I have in my collection (Tibet and Russia come to mind as big notes too), it is 8 1/4 inches X 5 inches ( 210 mm X 128 mm)

The National Bank of Scotland Ltd. was a Scottish commercial bank. It was founded in 1825, and obtained a royal charter in 1831. It became the first Scottish bank to open a London office, in 1864. In 1918 the bank was bought by Lloyds Bank, although it continued to operate as an independent institution until 1959, when it merged with the Commercial Bank of Scotland to become the National Commercial Bank of Scotland. Ten years later the National Commercial Bank merged with the Royal Bank of Scotland. 

( wikipedia – more here)

we’ll come across some of the other banks listed above in the next few posts.

THE START

As i said in the intro, i started with the banknotes of my own country, Scotland, and discovered a few interesting (I think) facts .The main one is that Scotland has 4 issuing banks, Bank of England, Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and The Clydesdale bank. However Scotland does not have any legal tender. all the above banks are authorised to issue notes which are used across Scotland but only the Bank of England notes are always taken in foreign countries, as i found out when i visited Cuba a few years ago – more of that when i come to the Cuba section !!! For a good site on the potted history of Scottish notes click here. (No connection to this blog - just a similar name, but they are very helpful)

WHERE TO BEGIN

There are many reasons why people collect things and, i suppose, banknotes are not that different. some people collect as an investment, to resell later, others so they can find out about other countries and their history, others for the stunning artwork you can find on notes. Whatever your reason for collecting, you must enjoy it!!

Where to start ? well that depends on YOUR reason!! I started with the simple view of ” I’m going to collect at least one banknote from every country in the world” which is a good starting point but soon you realize that countries change their names, divide up, merge, are occupied etc etc. which made it more exciting (and confusing) but has, and will always, keep me interested.

I don’t spend load of money on banknotes, so for me, getting them from the internet has been really useful, general sites like ebay or specialist sites like delcampe or collectors own sites, i find are the best.

A good idea, which i’m going to use here, is to start with your own country. maybe start with the notes circulating now and  work back as they become available. If you live in or near to a large city it may be worth contacting a museum to see if they have a collection you can see – sometimes it may not be on display but they will make an appointment to show it to you – they may know of other collectors in your are that can help. 

we are really lucky in Edinburgh -  i’ll be mentioning a few resources that you can contact as we go along.

Finally, i want to say that i am NOT an academic or expert in any way, so if you see mistakes or you have extra info or contacts, feel free to post them .

I hope you enjoy the Blog !!!!