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Showing posts with label Scotland - Clydesdale Bank Commemorative. Show all posts

...Scotland, Clydesdale Bank - £5 Dated 2015 Polymer Note Commemorative

Five Pounds

Dated 13.02.2015

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Five Pounds

Dated 13.2.2015, PB/2

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This is a new £5 Commemorative Polymer note, issued to celebrate the 125th Year of the Forth Bridge in Scotland. The Forth (Rail) bridge was built in 1890 by Sir William Arrol (1839-1913), a Scottish Civil Engineer, under his company name of Sir William Arrol & Co, based in Glasgow. Allan Stewart was the resident engineer for this project. The bridge took 8 years to build and cost 73 lives, at a cost of approx. £3.2 million. The bridge, spans 2,528.7 meters long, connects the cities between Edinburgh and Fife and was opened on 4.3.1890 by the Prince of Wales, the late King Edward Vll. It should be noted that this Forth bridge is a railway bridge and was built solely for trains only, with daily traffic between 190-200 trains passing through the bridge. One must not confuse this bridge with the Forth Road Bridge (Suspension bridge built in 1964) which is a more modern bridge used by motor vehicles. In addition to the notes, the bank also released a booklet/wallet type detailing the history of this Forth bridge. The Forth Bridge is a Scottish landmark, and has been featured in classic movies (Alfred Hitchcock 1935 movie - The 39 Steps), advertisements, the 2000 Millennium countdown and even in video games. This is the first polymer note issued in Great Britain. A total of 2.0 million pieces were issued. The size of this new polymer note (125mm x 65mm) is also smaller than the current paper £5 (135mm x 70mm) in circulation. However this is not the first polymer note issued in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (aka United Kingdom or Britain). In 1999, the then Northern Bank Ltd (now trading as Danske Bank) issued a £5 polymer note to celebrate the year 2000 Millennium. The Clydesdale Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Australia Banking Group (NAB Group) which has their Global Head Office in Melbourne Australia. Coincidentally right up to 2004, the Northern Bank in Northern Ireland was also owned by the NAB Group before it was sold. The 2007 Bank of Scotland Bridge series notes also feature the Forth bridge on the reverse side of the £20 note. This Clydesdale Bank polymer note was released on 23.03.2015. It is interesting to note that this new polymer note was printed with the date 13.02.2015, with the signature of the CEO David Thorburn. On 6.1.2015, David Thorburn resigned (stepping down) from the CEO role and his replacement, David Duffy, was announced on 19.1.2015. David Thorburn is not related to the current CEO of National Australia Bank Ltd, Andrew Thorburn.

Dated 2015, replacement ZZ/1 000121

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News on announcing the printing and releasing of the new Scotland Polymer note (courtesy of The Guardian 22.05.2014); -

The first plastic banknotes in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) will be introduced in Scotland next year to mark the 125th anniversary of the Forth Bridge, Clydesdale Bank has announced.

The bank will release two million of the £5 notes from (23rd) March 2015 to coincide with the anniversary of the opening of the rail bridge.

Banks say that polymer notes are proven to be more durable than existing currency, with research finding that they stay cleaner for longer, are more difficult to counterfeit and last at least two-and-a-half times longer than paper ones.

The Bank of England plans to issue plastic notes for the first time in 2016.

The Clydesdale Bank note, which is smaller than the existing currency, also celebrates the nomination of the Forth Bridge for inclusion in Unesco's World Heritage List in 2014.

It features the image of Sir William Arrol, one of Scotland's most celebrated engineers, whose company constructed the bridge.

Debbie Crosbie, executive director at Clydesdale Bank, said: "Clydesdale Bank is very proud to commemorate the Forth Bridge on our new £5 note. The structure is renowned across the world as an incredible feat of engineering so it was a fitting choice for a ground-breaking new banknote."

The bank said it had not made a decision about introducing plastic notes generally.

It said the new note will include the Spark Orbital security feature – a distinctive colour-shifting ink effect – for the first time on UK currency.

Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael MP said: "As this new note becomes part of everyday life in villages, towns, cities and communities across the country, it will serve as a fitting tribute to the vision of Sir William Arrol and all the people who have contributed to the building, maintenance and restoration of the bridge in its 124-year history."

In December 2013, the Bank of England announced that it plans to issue plastic banknotes for the first time from 2016, when a new £5 note featuring Sir Winston Churchill will appear.

A £10 note featuring Jane Austen, to follow around a year later, will also be made from polymer rather than the cotton paper currently used.

...Scotland, Clydesdale Bank PLC - £10 Dated 1997 10 Years Anniversary with Special NAB Prefix (National Australia Bank)

Commemorative Issue - The First Decade 1987 to 1997

Ten Pounds, Dated 1.5.1997 P226

Special "NAB" Prefix (National Australia Bank)

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Clydesdale Bank £10 “NAB” prefix note

I recently bought this note twice. I bought both of them 1 week apart. In my first purchase, the seller told me that the note was no longer available as he forgot to remove the item from his listing. He then refunded my payment. Then I have to go around searching for another one. Second time lucky and I also managed to get this one slightly cheaper.

Whilst this note is a bit pricey according to catalogue value, I believe it’s worth it. This note was first issued with the imprinted date of 1.5.1997, commemorating the life of Mary Slessor. Whilst the first print for this note started with prefix A/AA prefix (I believe), the bank also issued the same note with a special prefix of “NAB”. The purpose of this print was to celebrate the first 10 years of Clydesdale Bank under the management of the National Australia Bank Group (NAB). The then Midland Bank sold the Clydesdale Bank to the NAB Group in 1987. The NAB is one of the four major banks in Australia and has its Head Office based in Melbourne. Whilst I have no knowledge of the quantity printed, these “NAB” notes were presented to the staff of Clydesdale Bank only. These notes were also printed with the same date of 1.5.1997 as those initially first released.

Following the first release of this note, it had since been reprinted with the following signatures:-

1) Frederick Anderson Goodwin (1.5.1997 both normal and NAB prefix);

2) John Robertson Wright (5.11.1998 & 12.10.1999);

3) Steve Targett (26.1.2003);

4) Ross Pinney (25.4.2003); and

5) David Thorburn (21.11.2004, 14.3.2006 & 16.4.200).

I am lucky to say that I have all these issues in my collection, thus completing my collection for the Clydesdale Bank Mary Slessor series.

P/S – Coincidentally, Fred Goodwin, as an employee of Touche Ross, was involved in the due diligence to the 1987 takeover of Clydesdale Bank by the NAB. His signature also appeared on banknotes issued by The Royal Bank of Scotland.