# Changing Scottish Notes



## BCNGUIRI

Anybody have any problems? I had to visit 5 banks before finding one that would accept them! Does anybody know if banks that offer exchanges can legally refuse to accept sterling just because its issued by Scottish banks?


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## Alcalaina

Interesting - I just checked this and they aren't actually legal tender! So I guess Spanish banks are able to refuse them.

Wikipedia says this: "Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes are unusual, firstly because they are issued by retail banks, not central banks, and secondly, as they are not legal tender anywhere in the UK – not even in Scotland or Northern Ireland – they are in fact promissory notes. Indeed, no banknotes (even Bank of England notes) are now legal tender in Scotland or Northern Ireland." Banknotes of the pound sterling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In a similar vein, you can't use Gibraltarian pound coins in Britain!


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## MaidenScotland

Yes exchanging Scottish notes is a pain. .. although it chocks me to say it you are better with bank of England notes. I went to the cinema in Leicester square to see Braveheart and my Scottish notes were refused by a German working in ticket booth... I was not happy.

Strangely enough I was able to change Scottish notes easily in Chania but no where else in Crete.. here I can't change them.

You cannot buy or exchange Scottish notes for English at Glasgow airport..


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## Stravinsky

We used to go to Scotland on breaks, so had Scottish money on return to England. Most of the shops wouldnt accpt them in England, and we had to go to our Bank to have them changed to UK money!


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## MaidenScotland

And to think it was a Scot who founded the bank of England


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## Stravinsky

MaidenScotland said:


> And to think it was a Scot who founded the bank of England


Its a good job I was banking with the Royal Bank of Scotland at the time


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## MaidenScotland

I know that there is no problem in spending your Scottish notes in Blackpool or Corby... I suppose anywhere that has a large portion of visiting Scots are used to them


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## jimenato

Apparently RBS in Gibraltar charge you for changing THEIR OWN notes.:confused2:


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## Caz.I

jimenato said:


> Apparently RBS in Gibraltar charge you for changing THEIR OWN notes.:confused2:


That's just pure greed! Since you cant use them outside Gib, they clearly see visitors as a captive market.

But I am astounded by this news about Scottish notes not being legal tender (so I have been looking into this!). However, since they are legal currency and there are not any bank notes that are “legal tender” in Scotland (not even Bank of England notes, apparently), then it is a nonsense. Especially since it is not illegal to accept them and they can be exchanged for Bank of England notes of the same value. Their intrinsic value is the same as English pounds sterling and it is still legal to use them as a method of payment in the UK so there should not be a problem. But it means traders can refuse them even though they have no logical reason to do so.

I lived in London for 20 years and when I tried to use Scottish notes they were normally accepted without a problem, they were queried once or twice in that time but after the staff checked with the manager they were accepted.

I would have thought that having so many Scottish tourists in Spain, and therefore having to change Scottish banknotes regularly, most places would be aware that there is no problem with them.

Besides, I doubt if people who refuse them know they are not “legal tender”as such, they are probably not accepted just because they look different from the Bank of England notes and so they don’t think they have the same value. 

The only problem I have had here is when I was changing a mixture of English and Scottish banknotes. The bank tried to charge me double the commission because they said I was changing two different currencies. I pointed out that they were both pounds sterling (and at the same exchange rate!) but they still insisted on charging for two currencies not one because they were issued by different banks. (Don’t know how much they would have charged if some of the Scottish notes were issued by different banks - since there are three that issue notes in Scotland!) Needless to say I took my business elsewhere! Changed them without a problem, and without the bank’s hefty commission!


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## nigele2

Caz.I said:


> .................. But it means traders can refuse them even though they have no logical reason to do so...................


I have heard traders saying that in England it is harder for them to spot forgeries of Scottish notes as often in the till there is nothing to compare. Also their customers don't want to accept them as change or as cash back so they become dead in the till.

But as a frequent north of the border visitor I can say that in England and Asturias I've had no problems for years 

Jimenato are you saying they charge you more for changing Scottish notes than English ones??? Very odd but then as a share holder these days who doesn't use them - go make money guys


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## Alcalaina

I used to frequent a pub in Oxford where lots of Scottish and Irish "expats" drank. Once a Scottish guy came in and bought a round of drinks for everyone, then tried to pay with a Scottish £100 note. The landlord wouldn't accept it, the guy bought a couple more rounds for us all then said he would go and change the note at a bank. We never saw him again!

I'm sure there's a moral to this tale but I've no idea what it is ...


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## BCNGUIRI

I spoke to the Banco de España and they said that no bank is obliged to take any currency even though they offer to exchange money :-( Caixa de Catalunya accepted them today them, but the rate was much lower than the internet advertises ....they had photos of the notes on the screen to help them decide if they forgeries or not!!


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## casa99

A few years ago I worked for national express as a coach driver and a couple of times did the cheltenham to glasgow run, we were only allowed to except notes from 3 scottish banks , they were r.b.s. clydesdale and british linen bank , if we were offered notes from bank of scotland we had to refuse them or change them into english notes. It caused many a row I can tell you .
David.


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## jimenato

nigele2 said:


> I have heard traders saying that in England it is harder for them to spot forgeries of Scottish notes as often in the till there is nothing to compare. Also their customers don't want to accept them as change or as cash back so they become dead in the till.
> 
> But as a frequent north of the border visitor I can say that in England and Asturias I've had no problems for years
> 
> Jimenato are you saying they charge you more for changing Scottish notes than English ones??? Very odd but then as a share holder these days who doesn't use them - go make money guys


I tried to use a Royal Bank of Scotland note to pay for something in a builders merchant in Gib. They wouldn't take it. I said I would take it to RBS. They said don't bother, it'll cost a lot to change.:noidea:


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## Caz.I

casa99 said:


> A few years ago I worked for national express as a coach driver and a couple of times did the cheltenham to glasgow run, we were only allowed to except notes from 3 scottish banks , they were r.b.s. clydesdale and british linen bank , if we were offered notes from bank of scotland we had to refuse them or change them into english notes. It caused many a row I can tell you .
> David.


British Linen Bank!- what on earth is that!? Are you sure that it isnt from another part of the UK? Northern Ireland have their own bank notes and the Isle of Man. There are only 3 banks in Scotland that can print bank notes - Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale and Bank of Scotland. Why couldnt they accept them in particular then?
Apparently, the reason there are different banknotes in the UK is because once upon a time all banks could print their own banknotes but a change in the law in the mid 19th century meant new banks couldnt. As many of the other original UK banks were taken over or went out of business the only ones left that were still allowed to were those 3 in Scotland and the Bank of England. So it wasnt anything to do with having a different system in Scotland it was just that they existed before the law changed.

And in Gibraltar they print their own bank notes in pounds sterling which cant be used in the UK but you can exchange them for Bank of England notes but not Scottish ones or vice versa. So, presumably the Royal Bank of Scotland uses only Bank of Gibraltar notes or Bank of England notes (just to confuse everyone more - and make Nigele more money lol)!


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## Caz.I

nigele2 said:


> I have heard traders saying that in England it is harder for them to spot forgeries of Scottish notes as often in the till there is nothing to compare. Also their customers don't want to accept them as change or as cash back so they become dead in the till.


Hmm. But this is a vicious circle. No one wants to use them because they think they cant change them. They can’t change them because no one wants to use them. Maybe the Scottish Parliament should have a Raising Awareness campaign lol. I read that they were trying to launch a campaign last year to force traders in England to accept Scottish bank notes. 
BTW I don’t really think comparing one note to another note is exactly a foolproof way of spotting a forgery of any banknote. Surely one of these clever little lamps where you can swipe them under an ultra violet light would be a better bet?

Just found out the British Linen bank was a merchant bank connected to Bank of Scotland which issued its own notes but cant any more, so it is their notes that should be refused. I think that is what you were referring to Casa 99.


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## casa99

Caz.I said:


> British Linen Bank!- what on earth is that!? Are you sure that it isnt from another part of the UK? Northern Ireland have their own bank notes and the Isle of Man. There are only 3 banks in Scotland that can print bank notes - Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale and Bank of Scotland. Why couldnt they accept them in particular then?
> Apparently, the reason there are different banknotes in the UK is because once upon a time all banks could print their own banknotes but a change in the law in the mid 19th century meant new banks couldnt. As many of the other original UK banks were taken over or went out of business the only ones left that were still allowed to were those 3 in Scotland and the Bank of England. So it wasnt anything to do with having a different system in Scotland it was just that they existed before the law changed.
> 
> And in Gibraltar they print their own bank notes in pounds sterling which cant be used in the UK but you can exchange them for Bank of England notes but not Scottish ones or vice versa. So, presumably the Royal Bank of Scotland uses only Bank of Gibraltar notes or Bank of England notes (just to confuse everyone more - and make Nigele more money lol)!


The time I was on national express was in the late 70`s early 80`s and we were given this info when we were driving the route up to scotland so I just presumed it balonged to a scottish bank or sub. 
David.hwell:


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## Alcalaina

casa99 said:


> The time I was on national express was in the late 70`s early 80`s and we were given this info when we were driving the route up to scotland so I just presumed it balonged to a scottish bank or sub.
> David.hwell:


Sounds like a Belfast thing, didn't it used to be famous for linen?


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## casa99

Alcalaina said:


> Sounds like a Belfast thing, didn't it used to be famous for linen?


Sorry Alcalaina, the only thing I know about belfast was a group called " wheels", so I guess you could be right.


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## Caz.I

Alcalaina said:


> Sounds like a Belfast thing, didn't it used to be famous for linen?


No, I have since found out it was a Scottish merchant bank in Edinburgh which was connected to Bank of Scotland. But I had never heard of it until now. They used to print their own notes up until the 1980's.


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## Caz.I

Alcalaina said:


> I used to frequent a pub in Oxford where lots of Scottish and Irish "expats" drank. Once a Scottish guy came in and bought a round of drinks for everyone, then tried to pay with a Scottish £100 note. The landlord wouldn't accept it, the guy bought a couple more rounds for us all then said he would go and change the note at a bank. We never saw him again!
> 
> I'm sure there's a moral to this tale but I've no idea what it is ...


- Beware generous Scotsmen bearing gifts?


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## Alcalaina

Caz.I said:


> - Beware generous Scotsmen bearing gifts?


Well I'm not sure how many other pubs he pulled the stunt in, but he certainly made a lot of friends!


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