...Scotland, Clydesdale Bank Limited - £20 Polymer Dated 11.07.2019 (Issued 27.02.2020)

Alba / Scotland

Clydesdale Bank Limited
(Founded 1838, First issuing banknotes on 07.05.1838)
Currency : Pound Sterling (GBP)

This is the latest £20 polymer note issued by the Clydesdale Bank Limited on 27.02.2020.

Front: -
Portrait of Robert the Bruce together with the years of his birth and death (b.1274-1329);
A Spider;
A series of tartan patterns to the left of the portrait;
An image of St Kilda within the clear window on the left;
Spark® OrbitalTM map of Scotland";
Holographic foil images featuring Robert the Bruce and a Spider;
Clydesdale Bank name and logo.

Back: -
Vignette of St Kilda, Islanders weaving and the wording ‘St Kilda Scottish World Heritage Site inscribed 1986 & 2005’;
A reverse image of St Kilda in the clear window;
Map of Scotland with the location of St Kilda highlighted;
A boat;
Holographic foil images featuring Robert the Bruce and a Spider;
Clydesdale Bank name and logo.

The design on the back of this £20 note is similar to the last £5 paper note last issued as it also featured the vignette of St Kilda, Islanders weaving and the wording ‘St Kilda Scottish World Heritage Site inscribed 1986 & 2005’. It is also interesting to know that this £5 paper note was only issued once when this series (World Heritage Site) was first released in 2009.

Signature : David Joseph Duffy
Imprinter : De La Rue
First prefix : W/HS (Posted prefix W/LL)
Size : 139mm x 73mm

Twenty Pounds

Dated 2019, Robert the Bruce, map of Scotland, spider

Reverse - Vignette of St Kilda, Islanders weaving and the wording ‘St Kilda Scottish World Heritage Site inscribed 1986 & 2005

...Scotland Clydesdale Bank - £10 Polymer 2017

Scotland

Clydesdale Bank

This is the second of the Scottish polymer series. This note is printed with the date of 25.01.2017 and was issued on 21.09.2017. Clydesdale Bank is the first bank to release the £10 polymer series.

Designs:
Front: Robert Burns (1759-1796, map of Scotland, see-through window with image of Edinburgh castle;
Back: The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, (Scottish World Heritage site since 1995), monument, train, Edinburgh castle, the Royal Scottish Academy of the Mound and the outline map of Scotland.

The design for this polymer note is very similar to the last paper note except that additional security features are added to the note such as the see-through window and also the raised dots for the visually impaired. Some minor features also been replaced such as the vaulted archways (replacing the mad dashing Tam o'Shanter), an ink well is added on the front next to the portrait of Robert Burns (a famous Scots poet), a modern mode of transportation (tram) and Gothic Sir Walter Scott Monument on Princes Street in Edinburgh. Unlike the two other Scottish Banks, Clydesdale Bank retains the same prefix style as the last paper banknote series.

First prefix W/HS (World Heritage Site); Replacement prefix E/ZZ.

The signature of the note belongs to the CEO David Duffy (appointed since 19.01.2015)

Ten Pounds

Dated 2017

Reverse

Ten Pounds

Dated 2017- Replacement Prefix E/ZZ

Reverse

...Scotland Clydesdale Bank plc - £5 2016 Polymer

This is the Clydesdale Polymer note series released to the public on 27.09.2016. The note is printed with the date of 13.02.2016. The design of this note is identical to the 2015 £5 Forth Bridge Commemorative Polymer note, except for the signature (Chief Operating Officer - David Duffy) and letters prefix. This is the second banknote bearing the signature of David Duffy. The prefixes printed for this series starting from W/HS to W/JG. Replacement prefix is printed with ZZ/1.

Five Pounds (120mm x 66mm)

Dated 2016, First Prefix, P369b

Reverse

 Five Pounds

Dated 2016, Last Prefix, P369b

Reverse

Five Pounds (ZZ/1)

Dated 2016, Replacement Prefix

Reverse

Scotland Clydesdale Bank - £5 Polymer Commemorative 2015

Five Pounds

Dated 13.02.2015

Reverse

Five Pounds

Dated 13.2.2015, PB/2

Reverse

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 had been featured in classic movie (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 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.

ZZ/1 Replacement Note

Reverse

Folder Front Cover

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.