...Scotland, The Royal Bank of Scotland - One Pound dated 01.05.1981

Alba

Scotland

The Royal Bank of Scotland Limited (RBS)
(Founded 1727, First issuing banknotes on 08.12.1727)

Currency : Pound Sterling (GBP)

 

Here is the only ₤1 note of the 1981 series I have in my collection. This note belongs to the Scottish castles series. The design for this Edinburgh was first introduced in 1969 with the ₤5 note. In 1970, the bank issued another ₤5 note with the same theme and design but with different colours. In 1972, it released a full set of banknotes all depicting different Scottish castles on the back. Since then, the bank went on and issued the Castle series, albeit different designs, until 2017. However, despite releasing banknotes featuring various Scottish castles, the bank ceased issuing the ₤1 note after the 2001 series. 

 

In my opinion, the Castle series is the best series of banknotes ever designed by the Royal Bank of Scotland's banknotes issued. The designs are simple, beautiful, and more importantly, they are not overcrowded with all kinds of features.

 

One Pound

 

Front - The Coat of Arms printed on the center right. The design for the Coat of Arms featuring a horse and a deer holding onto a shield. On top of the shield is a ribbon with the word 'FIRM' printed on it. It is believed this Coat of Arms was first developed in 1960 and only appeared on the 1966 banknote series. The bank ceased using this Coat Arms when the first polymer series was introduced in 2016. Since then, the bank has used the bank logo Daisy Wheel instead. It should be noted that the Daisy Wheel logo was first used in the 1971 series.

 

Signature - John B Burke

Dated - 1 May 1981

Watermark - Image of Adam Smith

Dimensions - mm x mm

 

Back - A bird-eye view of Edinburgh Castle. This castle was first built in the 11th century. Edinburgh castle is located on top of Castle Rock. This is a historical castle and was once the royal residence. Later it was then turned into an arsenal, a treasury, a national archive, a mint, a prison and a military fortress. Whilst this castle had gone through many conflicts over the past few centuries, today it is well known to the world for its annual Edinburgh festival for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo parade. No doubt this historical castle is a tourist attraction in the city of Edinburgh and each year attracts more than 2.0+ million visitors from all over the world.