Our Banknotes

1. History overview
2. Banknote features
3. Banknote issues
4. Reproducing images

Learn more here about the banknotes we’ve issued since 1987.

The Ilay Series

The Ilay banknotes were launched in September 1987, and are still in circulation today. They continue the Scottish castle theme of the previous series, but also feature a portrait of the Bank's first governor, Lord Ilay (1682-1761). Ilay's portrait also features as the watermark on the notes, replacing that of Adam Smith.

Other significant motifs include:

• View of the Bank's Registered Office at 36 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh
• The star-shaped windows in the domed ceiling of the Registered Office banking hall
• The Bank's coat of arms and its daisy wheel brand mark

Full details are available of the signatories, issue dates, serial numbers and issue extents of the Ilay series (PDF, 17KB).

£100 - Balmoral Castle

This royal residence in Deeside was built in 1853. It was a great favourite of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Appearing on the highest-value note in the series, it stands as an appropriate reminder of the Bank's royal origins.

£50 - Inverness Castle

This note, first issued on 14 September 2005, was the first £50 note to be issued by us since 1727. Inverness Castle was chosen in recognition of Inverness becoming Scotland's fifth city in 2001.

£20 - Brodick Castle

The only castle in the series not on the mainland of Scotland, and the home from which the Dukes of Montrose held the Isle of Arran. The Dukes were closely associated with the Bank in its early years.

£10 - Glamis Castle

Glamis Castle was reputedly the scene of Macbeth's murder of King Malcolm II in 1031. It is the seat of the Earl of Strathmore, whose ancestors were deputy governors of The Royal Bank of Scotland. It was also the childhood home of the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

£5 - Culzean Castle

Situated on a cliff on the Ayrshire coast 11 miles south of Ayr, this former home of the Marquis of Ailsa was built by the famous architect Robert Adam, a customer of RBS subsidiary Drummonds Bank.

£1 - Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh's Castle Rock, rising 200 feet above the city's Princes Street, has been a fortification since prehistoric times. The castle itself is steeped in antiquity and since the 11th century has been closely linked with the history of Scotland.

Commemorative Notes

Since 1992, we have issued occasional commemorative notes marking major national events or anniversaries.

Full details are available about the signatories, issue dates, serial numbers and issue extents of all the commemorative notes (PDF, 17KB).

The European Summit £1 note, 1992

This was Britain's (and the European Union's) first commemorative banknote. Its special features included:

• The dates of the meeting, an engraving of the venue (the Palace of Holyroodhouse) and a lithoprinted colour version of the European Union flag
• Serial numbers with the prefix EC

Robert Louis Stevenson centenary £1 note, 1994

This note commemorated the centenary of the death of the famous Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Special features included:

• A completely redesigned reverse, showing a portrait of Stevenson, his early home in Edinburgh and his final home on Samoa, and a montage of characters and events from his books
• Serial numbers with the prefix RLS

Alexander Graham Bell 150th anniversary £1 note, 1997

This note celebrated the birth in Edinburgh of Alexander Graham Bell, pioneer of the telephone. It was the first banknote in the EU to carry a hologram. Other features included:

• Bell's name and dates, an early telephone and the hologram
• Images of his famous work with telephones, including telephone users, a wave signal for 'telephone' and a schematic drawing of a receiver.
• Representations of other scientific pursuits that occupied Bell, including birds, which he studied to understand flight; sheep, which helped him to understand genetics; and geometric shapes, with which he experimented to develop engineering structures.
• Above all else, Bell saw himself as a teacher of the deaf - it is not surprising that this was so important to him, because his own wife was deaf. In honour of this work, the note shows Mrs Bell, as well as representations of sign language and the phonetic alphabet that Bell's father had developed.

The new Scottish Parliament £1 note, 1999

This note marked an historic occasion - the first meeting of the new Parliament, re-formed nearly 300 years after it last sat in 1707. Features included:

• A saltire design in the border, and a silhouette of the Church of Scotland Assembly Hall,where the Parliament met before its permanent home was built
• The line 'Commemorating the First Meeting of the Scottish Parliament' and the date of the meeting
• Vignette of the Parliament's temporary home, contrasted with an aerial view of the new building, not yet built when this note was issued
• The bottom border contains the words 'Scottish Parliament Building' in the font used by the architect

The Queen Mother's 100th Birthday £20 note, 2000

This note celebrated the 100th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, whose family had long banking connections with The Royal Bank of Scotland's Drummonds Bank. Features included:

• A portrait of the Queen Mother, art nouveau patterns (to reflect the style of her year of birth), laurel and thistle imagery (associated with royalty in Scotland), a cameo portrait of Her Majesty aged six and an engraving of Glamis Castle, her childhood home in Tayside
• Commemorative text, birthday issue date (5 August) and serial number beginning with the letters QETQM. The Queen Mother's crown appears in intaglio gold

The Queen's Golden Jubilee £5 note, 2002

This note was issued to celebrate 50 years of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It was dated 6 February, the anniversary of the day of Her Majesty's accession to the throne. Other features included:

• The official crown emblem of the Golden Jubilee
• Portraits of the Queen, showing her at the time of her Coronation and more recently, and an engraving of the Rose Window in Westminster Abbey, the Coronation venue.
• A border composed of elements based on the Order of the Thistle
• Serial numbers with the prefix TQGJ, standing for The Queen's Golden Jubilee

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews 250th anniversary £5 note, 2004

This note celebrated the world-famous golf club and, more generally, Scotland's proud history as the home of golf. Special features included:

• The official crest of the club, printed in intaglio gold ink
• The Royal & Ancient clubhouse, the 18th green on the Old Course, the Captains' silver clubs and golf balls, the Claret Jug, and a portrait of the golf pioneer Old Tom Morris
• Serial number with the prefix R&A, standing for Royal and Ancient

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 500th anniversary £5 note, 2005

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is the oldest incorporated medical organisation in the world. Features include:

• The college's quincentenary crest in gold
• Serial number prefix RCS, standing for Royal College of Surgeons

Jack Nicklaus £5 note, 2005

This note was issued on 14 July 2005, the first day of the 2005 Open Golf Championship at St Andrews, and celebrates the remarkable career of RBS Ambassador Jack Nicklaus, who won the Open three times, including twice at St Andrews. It was the first British banknote to celebrate a living non-royal person. Features include:

• Images of Nicklaus holding the Claret Jug; playing a shot on his way to victory in 1978; the clubhouse; his winning scores at St Andrews in 1970 and 1978; and a card of the course for the 2005 Open
• Nicklaus's Golden Bear logo and the serial number prefix JWN, standing for Jack William Nicklaus .

Gogarburn £50 note, 2005

On 14 September 2005, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II officially opened The Royal Bank of Scotland Group's new Gogarburn campus in Edinburgh. This note was issued to mark the occasion. Its special features include:

• An aerial view of the building and an image of the main entrance
• A background pattern based on the overall layout of the building
• The serial number prefix RBS

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