...Scotland, Clydesdale Bank Limited - £1 Dated 1974

Alba / Scotland

Clydesdale Bank Limited

(Founded 1838, First issuing banknotes on 07.05.1838)

Currency : Pound Sterling (GBP)

This is one odd note of £1 I have in my collection that was printed with the date of 1st March 1974 and signed by A R MacMillian as Chief General Manager. I am unable to find out what the initials "A R" stand for. The condition of this note is heavily circulated and I have no recollection as to how I got this note in the first place. It is most likely that I got this as a change, but I can't confirm this. This £1 note was issued between 1971 to 1981 and unfortunately this is the only piece I have in my collections.

The design on the back depicts the scene of the Battle of Bannockburn which was fought on 23rd and 24th of June 1314 between Robert the Bruce against the invading army of King Edward ll of England. The battle was won by Robert the Bruce and today the National Trust of Scotland operates the Bannockburn Visitor Center where the battle was believed to be fought to commemorate this famous victory.

One Pound

Dated 1974, King of Scots Robert the Bruce

Reverse - Battle of Bannockburn

...Great Britain - 20 Pounds (nd)2025 s. Chief Cashier Ms Victoria Mary Florence Cleland

Great Britain

(United Kingdom - England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland)

 

Bank of England (Est. 1694)

Currency - Pound Sterling (GBP)

 

Here, I have the ₤20 polymer note with the portrait of King Charles the Third first issued on 05.06.2024. The note that I have here is the reprint of the nd2024 series, but with the Chief Cashier signature of Victoria Mary Florence Cleland. It is believed that this reprint note was issued in (nd)2025.

It is interesting to know that this is Victoria Cleland second time appointment to the Bank of England as the Chief Cashier role. She replaced Sarah John, who is now the bank's Chief Operating Officer. Victoria Cleland first served as the Chief Cashier from March 2014 to June 2018. During that time, her signature appeared on the ₤10, ₤20 and ₤50 paper banknotes and then the ₤5 and ₤10 polymer notes first series. All these notes carried the portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth the Second (b.1926-2022). Now she is back again as the bank's Chief Cashier and she was reappointed in March 2025. There is no fixed term for the Bank of England Chief Cashier position. The Chief Cashier position was first established by the bank in 1694, and since then, I believe that Victoria Cleland is the only person that has been appointed to this role more than once.

This is the only note issued with the signature of Victoria Cleland for this King Charles polymer series, and hopefully more to come when reprints for the other denominations to be issued at a later date, if required.

  

Twenty Pounds

 

Front - Portrait of King Charles III who became the King of the United Kingdom following the death of mother, Queen Elizabeth II on 08.09.2022. Coronation was held on 06.05.2023. The last series of polymer notes bearing the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II were released between 2016 to 2021. There are three transparent windows on the note. The one to the left has the face of King Charles. Next to it is the Margate Lighthouse (Kent) in gold foil alongside the Turner Contemporary gallery. To the far right is a window from the ruins of Tintern Abbey. Printed in the center of the note is the Bank of England headquarters which is located on Threadneedle Street in London. Above this are the four shields representing the United Kingdom (L-R) - England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

Signature - Victoria Mary Florence Cleland (Chief Cashier since March 2025)

Watermark - King Charles III on the see-through window

Dimensions - 139.5mm x 73mm

Back - An image of Joseph Mallord William Turner (b.1775-1851) with a backdrop of one of his famous paintings, the Fighting Temeraire. This oil painting was completed in 1838. The portrait William Turner printed on this note came from a self-portrait oil painting completed in around 1799. William Turner was a romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He was born and lived in London all his life.

...Poland - 10 And 20 Zlotych 2025 Reprints

Rzeczpospolita Polska
(Republic of Poland)

Naradowy Bank Polski
(National Bank of Poland, Est.1945)
Currency - Zloty (PLN)

 

Below are the two notes of 10 and 20 zlotych both printed with the year date of 2025. These are reprints of the current series, first introduced in 2012.

 

Ten Zlotych 

Duke Mieszko I (b.930-992)

Front - Duke Mieszko I (b.930-992) was Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992. He founded the first unified Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. He was also the first Christian ruler of Poland.

Previous issues were dated 05.01.2012 and 15.09.2016 

Signatures

President (Prezes) - Adam Glapiński

Chief Treasurer (Główny Skarbnik) - Barbara Jaroszek 

Date - 30 Stycznia 2025 r. 

Watermarks - Duke Mieszko and electrotype 10

Sizes - 120mm x 60mm

Back - An image of a Silver Denar (denarius). The Silver Denar was the first form of tangible Polish currency, circulating from the 10th century. The coin was initially minted from silver featuring various Polish rulers.
 

Silver Denar (denarius)

 

Twenty Zlotych 

Front - King Boleslaw I Chrobey (the Brave) wearing a crown on his head.

Previous issues were dated 05.01.2012 and 15.09.2016 

Signatures

President (Prezes) - Adam Glapiński

Chief Treasurer (Główny Skarbnik) - Barbara Jaroszek 

Date - 19 Marca 2025 r. 

Watermarks - King Boleslaw I Chrobey and electrotype 20

Sizes - 126.5mm x 63mm

Back - An image of a Silver Denar (denarius) coin.

...Sweden - 20 And 100 Kronor ND2022 Series K Prefix Prints

Kingdom of Sweden

Konungariket Sverige 

Central Bank of Sweden (Est; 1668)

Sveriges Riksbank

Currency - Krona (SEK)

 

Here, I have posted two notes both supposedly printed in 2022 with the prefix letter K. The two notes posted are the 20 and 100 kronor and it is believed that the 500 kronor is printed too. So far, none has been sighted in public yet. As at the time of this posting, only two prefixes for the 500 kronor have been issued and they were printed with the letters B (nd2014) and C (nd2015). I also read somewhere that this 500 kroner notes were also printed with the letters E (nd2017), F (nd2018) and G (nd2019). I am not sure if this is correct. Time will tell! 

There are no years printed on most recent banknotes issued but one can only tell which year the notes are printed by looking at the letter prefix. I have listed the prefixes and year of issues at the bottom of this post.

Twenty Kronor

Front - A portrait of Astrid Lindgren (b.1907-2002). Born Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren was a Swedish children's book author, featuring likes of Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lonneberga, Karlsson-on-the-Roof and The Six Bullerby Children books etc. In addition to these, she also wrote other fictional books and screenplays as well. It was reported that by 2010, over 160 millions written by her have been sold worldwide. To her right is one of her children's characters, Pippi Longstocking. 

Signatures

Chairman - Bo Goran Rickard Broman

Governor - Stefan Nils Magnus Ingves 

Year - Series K (nd2022) 

Watermarks - Astrid Lindgren and electrotype 20

Sizes - 120.5mm x 66mm

Back - It depicts a forest scene in Smaland, a province located in the southern part of Sweden as highlighted in the map. Astrid Lindgren was born near Vimmerby, about 300 kilometers south of Stockholm. The flower on the central bottom is the Linnaea or twinflower.

 

One Hundred Kronor 

Front - This is the second reprint of 100 kroner (3rd issue since 2014). This note basically honors the late Swedish born actress Greta Garbo (b.1905-1990). Greta Garbo was born in Stockholm and was named Greta Lovisa Gustafsson. At the young age of 20 years old, she went to Hollywood and became a premier star during Hollywood's silent movie eras. In 1951 she became a naturalised US citizen. In all, she acted in 34 movies and her Hollywood career started when she moved to the US in 1925. In total, she acted in 24 movies in the US from 1925 to 1941. It is surprising that her signature is not included in the design of the portrait.

Signatures

Chairman - Bo Goran Rickard Broman

Governor - Stefan Nils Magnus Ingves 

Year - Series K (nd2022) 

Watermarks - Greta Garbo and electrotype 100

Sizes - 133.5mm x 66.5mm

Back - On the back, the note depicted a few famous buildings situated or around in Stockholm, Sweden. From L-R, they are: The Palace, Parliament building and City hall building. In the background, it is believed that is the image of the Öresund Bridge that connects the city of Copenhagen in Denmark to Malmo in Sweden. To the far right is the map of Sweden. This map is printed on all the current series of banknotes issued since 2014.

Five Hundred Kronor (Missing if any)

Footnote: - Year of issues based on letter prefix printed

A - 2013 : test note - is it believed the 50 and 100 kronor were printed

B - 2014 : Full set 20 to 1000 kroner

C - 2015 : 100 and 500 kroner

D - 2016 : 20 and 100 kroner

E - 2017 : 500 kroner (none sighted yet)

F - 2018 : 500 kroner (none sighted yet)

G - 2019 : 500 kroner (none sighted yet)

H - 2020 : -

I - 2021 : not used

J - 2021 : 100 kroner

K - 2022 : 20, 100 and 500 kroner

L - 2023 : -

M - 2024 : -

N - 2025 : -

O - 2026 : Not sure if this letter will be used, if any 

...Tatarstan (Russia) - 5000 Roubles/Fifty Shamil x 2 ND1996

Republic of Tatarstan

Республика Татарстан

 

The National Bank of the Republic of Tatarstan

Currency - Ruble/Shamil

 

These are the only two notes I have from the Republic of Tatarstan, an autonomous region of Russia. Tatarstan is also sometimes known as Tataria. The two notes that I have posted here are the 5000 rubles or 50 shamil (1 shamil = 100 rubles). Both notes are dated 1996(nd), but I believe the one that is printed in blue is the first print and the one in green is the second. It would be fair to say that the second print would be issued in 1997 or 1998 etc. These two notes are the largest denominations issued since 1992 and also the last issued by Tatarstan. These notes were issued to assist low income earning people to upgrade their way of life, due to the economic and financial crises at that time.

Tatarstan only issued banknotes from 1992 to 1996. The reason they issued banknotes was due to hyperinflation and economic collapse following the disintegration of the Soviet Union empire. These notes were issued as a temporary measure and it ceased circulating when the Russian rubles regained its stability later. In this short period of time, Tatarstan has released 24 banknotes including various varieties, from 50 rubles to 5000 rubles. The designs of these notes are quite simple with some are just printed on one side.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union on 26.12.1991, Tatarstan did not formally declare independence from the Soviet Union, but instead signed a treaty with Russia in 1994 to remain part of the Russian Federation but with significant autonomy.

Not many people would know where Tatarstan is located in Russia. Tatarstan is situated on the western side of Russia. It is located in the Volga Federation District and has a population of just over 4.0+ million people. The capital of Tatarstan is Kazan and is situated about 850 km east of Moscow. 

In 1992, Tatarstan began issuing its own currency for circulation. The two notes that I have posted here are the last banknotes issued, and also the largest denomination ever issued in Tatarstan.

There are two versions of this series and both designs are exactly the same but one is printed in blue and the other one in green. It is believed that the blue version of this note was the first issue, and then the green version note is a reprint. 

Whilst I have mentioned that these two are banknotes, in reality, these are coupons or currency cheques, and that is why very few details are printed on them, such as they do not have the name of the issuing authority (central bank), denomination/value, legal tender text etc. However, the notes do have watermarks, and the only watermarks that I can see are 8 electrotype vertical lines spacing across the notes. 

It was never my intention to get these two notes. I only bought them to fill up my gaps for missing banknotes from this region. I am still missing a few, especially for those countries that are no longer existing.

 

Five Thousand Rubles (Fifty Shamil) Blue First Print

Signature - n/a

Date - nd1996 First Print

Watermark - Eight vertical lines (electrotype) equally spaced across the note.

Size - 135.5mm x 64.5mm

Back - A woman from a national epic.

Five Thousand Rubles (Fifty Shamil) Green Second Print

 

Front - An image of the Kazan Kremlin in Kazan. The Kazan Kremlin is the chief historic citadel of Kazan. It was built at the behest of Ivan the Terrible on the ruins of the former castle of Kazan khans. This building was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000.

Signature - n/a

Date - nd1996 Second Print

Watermark - Eight vertical lines (electrotype) equally spaced across the note.

Size - 136mm x 65mm

Back - A woman from a national epic.