Scotland, Bank of Scotland Limited - £20 Polymer Commemorative Note Queensferry Crossing over the Firth of Forth

Alba / Scotland

Bank of Scotland Limited
(Established 17.07.1695, First bank to issue banknote in Scotland)
Currency : Pound Sterling (GBP)

On 07.11.2019, the Bank of Scotland unveiled two new £20 polymer notes. One is for general circulation and the other one is to commemorate the Queensferry Crossing bridge which was built in 2017. Both of these notes were released to the public on 27.02.2020. I have earlier posted the normal note and now I am posting the commemorative note here.

The release of these two notes were first announced by the bank on 07.11.2019. The theme for this new polymer note is the "Bridge" series, which is the continuation of the current series, first issued in 2007.

Here I have posted the commemorative notes with the two prefixes of QC and QF.

Front
Portrait of Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott (b.1771-1832);
Bank of Scotland Headquarters on The Mound, a man-made slope is situated in central Edinburgh which connects Edinburgh’s New and Old Towns;
Bank of Scotland Crest;
Spark® denomination numeral "20";
Image of Four Thistles;
Holographic foil stripe featuring image of ‘Fame’ below the pediment of the Mound with a thistle motif in the background;
Bank of Scotland name and logo.

Back
Vignette of the Queensferry Crossing with the Forth Bridges in the background, and the wording ‘Queensferry Crossing’;
Lyrics from the traditional ballad ‘Far Over the Forth’;
Bank of Scotland Headquarters on The Mound;
A Thistle;
Holographic foil stripe featuring image of ‘Fame’ below the pediment of the mound, with a thistle motif in the background;
Bank of Scotland name and logo.

As mentioned earlier, this commemorative note is issued to celebrate the Queensferry Crossing bridge. Unlike the Forth Bridge, this Queensferry Crossing bridge is for vehicle traffic only. This bridge was built alongside the Forth Bridge. This is the third bridge linking South Queensferry to Fife and was opened to traffic in 2017. This is a limited edition with the special prefixes of QC (Queensferry Crossing) and QF (Queensferry) only.

Just like the normal £20 Polymer note, this note is also printed with see-through tiny windows or an anti-counterfeit “window effect” on The Mound and a holographic depth stripe at the top of the foil, showing a “Northern Lights effect” when the note is tilted.

There are three bridges built across the Firth of Forth linking between Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, and Fife, at North Queensferry. The distance between these bridges is about 1 to 1.5 miles. These bridges are Queensferry Crossing bridge (2017), Forth Road bridge (1964) and Forth bridge (1889). The Forth bridge was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July 2015.

The note is also printed with the date of 1st June 2019. It is believed that only up to 1.0M pieces each are issued for the commemorative notes with QC and QF prefixes.

Governor - Antonio Mota de Sousa Horta-Osorio
Treasurer - Philip Grant
Imprinter - De La Rue
Size - 139mm x 73mm

Twenty Pounds

Dated 2019, Sir Walter Scott, Bank of Scotland Headquarters on The Mound

Reverse - Vignette of the Queensferry Crossing with the Forth Bridges in the background

Twenty Pounds

Dated 2019, Sir Walter Scott, Bank of Scotland Headquarters on The Mound

Reverse - Vignette of the Queensferry Crossing with the Forth Bridges in the background