Scottish Pound v English Pound

[Tracey]

When did Scotlands pound begin to have the same value as the English pound ? I remember being given a Scottish pound by a relative when i was about 10 ish in the 70,s. My dad and my uncle were having a conversation the other day and said then it was only worth about the English equivalent of 79p.

Just curious

[DavidWW]

Same value since 1707 as far as I'm aware !

Before that the Scot pound was only 1/12th of the English pound.

David

PS Could your Dad and uncle have been talking about the Irish £, known as the punt?
dww

[Tracey]

No definitly not the Irish pound. I think when i got mine i wanted it changed up and i dont think they were accepted (spending wise like now) in England at the time and the post office told her the value wasnt the same so my mum kept it and gave me a English pound. I am probably wrong but i was in on this conversation ...bearing in mind the people having this conversation 2 are 70 the other 76 so their memorys arent what they used to be !

[Davie]

As long as Our Queen's head is on the note, it has the same value throughout our nation

[Ina]

When I was shopping in England a few years ago they wouldn't accept my Scottish pound. Of course I told them what I thought of them and walked out without buying anything.

Ina

[DavidWW]

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/busin ... b03-51.pdf sums up the situation rather neatly. This extract from that site......

To conclude, Scottish banknotes are not, strictly speaking, legal tender in either Scotland or the rest of the UK. However, this does not diminish their value as currency. Scottish banknotes are printed in accordance with UK wide laws laid down by Acts of the UK Parliament at Westminster. Approximately 99.8% of Scottish banknotes are backed up by equivalent holdings of Bank of England banknotes and all Scottish banknotes carry a promise to pay an equivalent amount of legal tender should they be presented to the issuing bank.

http://www.siliconglen.com/Scotland/1_7.html has some interesting things to say, including:

Scottish bank notes are not legal tender in Scotland. English bank notes of denomination less than 5UKP were legal tender in Scotland under Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954. Now, with the removal of BoE 1UKP notes, only coins constitute legal tender in Scotland. English bank notes are only legal tender in England, Wales, The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. In Scotland, 1 pound coins are legal tender to any amount, 20ps and 50ps are legal tender up to 10 pounds; 10p and 5ps to 5 pounds and 2p and 1p coins are legal tender to 20p (separately or in combination). 2 pounds coins and (if you can get hold of one) 5 pound coins are also legal tender to unlimited amounts, as are gold coins of the realm at face value (in Scotland at least).

Northern Irish notes are not legal tender anywhere, a situation similar to Scottish notes. Whether Scottish notes are legal tender or not does not change alter their inherent value but it dictates their legal function. Credit cards, cheques and debit cards are not legal tender either but it doesn't stop them being used as payment. Only a minuscule percentage of Scottish and British trading is carried out using legal tender. Just because something is not legal tender certainly doesn't imply it's illegal to use.

The lack of a true legal tender in Scotland does not cause a problem for Scots Law which is flexible enough to get round this apparent legal nonsense, as was demonstrated some time ago when one local authority tried to refuse a cash payment (in Scottish notes) on the grounds it wasn't "legal tender", but lost their case when the sheriff effectively said that they were obliged to accept anything which was commonly accepted as "money", and that should their insistence on "legal tender" have been supported, it would have resulted in the bill being paid entirely in coins, which would have been a nonsense; stopping short of saying that the council would have been "cutting off their nose to spite their face", but seeming to hint at it.

David

[Andy]

In fact, in the mid 70's, internationally, the Scottish pound was worth £1.79 (because of the oil boom).

In Britain, as David says, all Scottish money has had the exact same internal (inherent) value as the Bank of England equivalent since 1707.

However the only paper "Legal Tender" in ALL Britain was the Bank of England £1 note. English £5, 10, 20 and 50s were and are only legal tender in England, Wales, The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

Scottish and Irish banknotes have never been legal tender and while it is NOT illegal for English traders to refuse them many Judges in England have found in favour of folk TRYING to pay English debts with Scottish notes, but have been refused.

The ruling in all cases was that the traders were obliged to accept anything which was commonly accepted as British "money", and that should their insistence on "legal tender" have been supported, it would have resulted in the bill being paid entirely in coins, which would have been a "nonsense".

It is illegal to charge an "Exchange Rate" in Britain between English and Scottish notes.

The Bank of Scotland started in 1695 and was the first European Bank to successfully issue banknotes!! So I don't know why there is a problem accepting them now ... but there frequently is!

As a wee extra. Us Scots take a bit of pride in the fact it was a Scotsman, William Paterson, who established the Bank of England (well had prompted for its establishment). However, it was a Englishman, John Holland, who founded the Bank of Scotland and was the first Governor.

[DavidWW]

To my eternal shame I always make sure when I'm travelling south of the border that I have Bank of England notes, - in fact, my reserve cash kept in the inner recesses of my wallet is BoE.

While instances of refusal are very few, difficulties always seem to arise at the worst time, e.g. late for an appointment and the London cab driver gets very awkward

The policy of the different Scottish banks is quite interesting in relation to cash machines at Scottish airports. Until recently at least, at Edinburgh, the Clydesdale m/c's gave out BoE notes, but the Bank of Scotland or Royal Bank of Scotland - can't recall which it is - give out Scottish notes

David

PS I started off banking life as a Commercial Bank customer, which became the National Commercial Bank in 1959 on a merger with the National Bank, which then became the Royal Bank of Scotland on a further merger in 1969 , but then Clydesdale Bank offered a better deal on a bridging loan in 1986, and been there ever since.
dww

[Andy]

As ever Davie pipped me at the post!!!!

[joette]

I have "terrorised" all my local shops into accepting my Scottish notes-refused to buy, threatened to boycott them etc. When the Paper pound disappeared in England my Scottish Pounds found a resurgence in popularity.
Now when a new member of Staff starts there "I dont think we can accept" speech the Managers/esses says "Oh no we are very happy to have Scottish notes" I cant afford the luxury of a black cab but the Tube has no problem with my Scottish notes either!!