Money and Banking

The abbreviations stand for the Latin words ‘libra’ (meaning ‘pounds’), ‘solidi’ (meaning shillings) and ‘denarii’ (meaning pennies).

The merk (2/3 of a Scots pound, i.e. 13 shillings and 4 pence) was mostly a unit of account, but was occasionally minted prior to 1707.

The Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank issue banknotes. No normal issue notes bear an image of the Queen, although she has appeared on some special-issue commemorative notes. None of the other banks operating in Scotland issue their own banknotes. A general guide to Scottish banknotes is James Douglas, Scottish Banknotes, (London: Gibbons, 1975) or Jonathan Callaway and Dave Murphy, Paper Money of Scotland (English Paper Money, 2018). Other useful published works are James Douglas, Twentieth Century Scottish Banknotes, vols. 1 & 2 (Banking Memorabilia,1984-1998); T Jones, Twentieth Century Scottish Banknote: Clydesdale Bank plc and its constituent banks (Banking Memorabilia,1998); Banknote Yearbook published annually by Token Publishing, Honiton, Devon. Other information about banknotes can be found at the websites of Royal Bank of Scotland <https://www.natwestgroup.com/heritage.html > and the Bank of Scotland <https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/who-we-are/our-heritage/our-companies.html > [both accessed 24 April 2024].

Look in contemporary records or publications. The local studies library and/or local authority archive should have postal directories and/or valuation rolls, and these should confirm the name of the bank(s) that operated within the location you are interested.

Consult J Orbell & A Turton British Banking: a guide to historical records (Ashgate, 2001); which contains a brief history for all banks which had surviving records at the time of publication. This is the quickest way to trace bank take-overs and mergers.

There are several useful publications on the history of banking and most of the main bank groups operating in Scotland: Bank of Scotland, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, and Lloyds TSB. Each bank is the result of a number of amalgamations over the last 300 years. General reference books on the subject include:

Checkland, S., Scottish Banking, A History, 1695-1973 (Collins, 1975)

Cameron, Alan, Bank of Scotland 1695-1995: a very singular institution (Mainstream Publishing, 1995)

Durie, A J. ed., The British Linen Company 1745-1775 (Scottish History Society, 1996)

Kerr, A. W., History of Banking in Scotland (D Bryce & Son, 1884)

Malcolm, C. A., The Bank of Scotland 1695-1945 ([1948])

Malcolm, C. A., The History of the British Linen Bank, 1746-1946 (Edinburgh, 1950)

Moss, Michael & Anthony Slaven, From ledger book to laser beam: a history of the TSB in Scotland, from 1810-1990 (Trustee Savings Bank Scotland, 1992)

Moss, Michael & Iain Russell, An Invaluable Treasure: A History of the TSB (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1994)

Munn, C., The Scottish Provincial Banking Companies, 1747-1864 (John Donald, 1981)

Orbell, J. & A. Turton, British Banking: A Guide to historical records (Ashgate, 2001)

Rait, Robert S., The History of the Union Bank of Scotland (Glasgow: 1930)

Saville, R., Bank of Scotland: A History, 1695-1995 (Edinburgh University Press, 1996)

Tamaki, Norio, The Life Cycle of the Union Bank of Scotland 1830-1954 (Aberdeen University Press, 1983)

If you are researching the history of the Bank of Scotland or The Royal Bank of Scotland (or one of their constituents) look at the respective websites: <https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/who-we-are/our-heritage/our-companies.html> [accessed 24 April 2024] for the Bank of Scotland and <https://www.natwestgroup.com/heritage.html> [accessed 24 April 2024] for the Royal Bank of Scotland. The National Archives website <http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk > [accessed 24 April 2024] will help you locate the archives services which hold records of other banks.

There may be clues on the building itself, such as building dates, former bank names, or initials in the stonework. There is a general guide to banking architecture: John Booker, Temples of Mammon: the Architecture of Banking (Edinburgh University Press, 1990). For published information about the specific building you are interested in, consult the Historic Environment Scotland website <https://canmore.org.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024] and architectural guides to the area in question. Of these, the most comprehensive are the Buildings of Scotland series (Penguin & Buildings of Scotland Trust), and the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland’s Illustrated Architectural Guides, (Mainstream Publishing), both of which cover most areas of Scotland. These usually devote a few sentences to each building of architectural interest.

You may be able to verify what you have found in published sources by looking at contemporary records or publications. The local studies library and/or local authority archives service should have postal directories and/or valuation rolls, and these should confirm the name of the bank(s) that operated the branch. If a newspaper covered the opening of the bank, the report might include details of the architect and building contractors.

If the bank was eventually taken over by The Royal Bank of Scotland look at the NatWest Group Heritage website <https://www.natwestgroup.com/heritage.html> [accessed 24 April 2024] which lists all 250 companies now part of the Group. For the Bank of Scotland look at the Lloyds Group website <https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/who-we-are/our-heritage/our-companies.html> [accessed 24 April 2024]. Staff at the relevant bank archives service may be able to check their property records, architectural plans and photograph collections to give you the name of the architect, the date of erection and alterations and copies of any photographs of the interior and exterior.

It is essential that you have the full name of the member of staff and the name of the bank he or she worked for. The archives of The Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland and TSB Scotland hold comprehensive sets of staff records (including the records of a few banks which later merged with them) from around the time of World War 1 (1914-18). Some are organised by branch or office name, others are arranged alphabetically by surname. From these it may be possible to obtain information about the member of staff, including date of birth, home address, position in the bank, salary and progress in banking exams. Photographs are harder to trace, but it was usual to have a photograph taken when you became an official of the bank. Staff records are subject to data protection legislation and are likely to be closed to public access until they are more than 100 years old.

From 1600 onwards the exchange rate was stabilised at 12:1, so one pound Scots = 1s. 8d sterling, and one pound sterling = 12 pounds Scots. Prior to 1600 the conversion is more difficult, as it depends on the exchange rate. The pound Scots and pound sterling were probably at parity in the 1360s, but subsequent debasement of the pound Scots led to devaluation. The exchange rate was 4:1 by the late 15th century, 5:1 by 1560, and 12:1 by 1600.

4:1       1 pound Scots = 5s sterling                £1 sterling = 4 pounds Scots

5:1       1 pound Scots = 4 s sterling               £1 sterling = 5 pounds Scots

12:1     1 pound Scots = 1s 8d sterling           £1 sterling = 12 pounds Scots

If the amount of money is in sterling, to find the ‘purchasing power’ (the equivalent amount of money today, taking into account inflation) for this amount, go to the Economic History website <https://eh.net/howmuchisthat/> [accessed 24 April 2024].

If the amount of money is in pounds Scots you must first of all convert the amount to pounds sterling. For the approximate exchange rates at different times, see the FAQ ‘How can I convert the pound Scots to its sterling equivalent?’ Answer: the important point to grasp is that this is not a decimal currency. 12d = 1 shilling: 20 shillings = 1 pound.

To add pounds, shillings and pence manually, columns of figures should be added as follows:

Start with the pence (d.) column. Add up the pence, and, using long division, divide by 12. The result will be a whole number and a remainder (a number between 0 and 11). The whole number represents the number of shillings to be carried over to the shillings (s.) column. The remainder is the number of pence in the total.

Add up the shillings (s.) column (including the figure carried over from the pence column). Divide this number by 20. The result will be a whole number and a remainder (a number between 0 and 19). The whole number represents the number of pounds to be carried over to the pounds (L) column. The remainder is the number of shillings in the total.

Add up the pound (L) column (including the figure carried over from the shillings column).

For example: the sum of the amounts below:

The website <www.mylostaccount.org.uk> [accessed 24 April 2024] provides a central point for enquiring about a lost account with any British bank. The service is free to use.

Banks normally paid no interest on sums of money under one pound, irrespective of whether it was a current or savings account. Also note that the final balance in a passbook may not be significant, as this may be the balance when an account information was changed to electronic form in the 1960s. Thereafter, the account holder may not have used the passbook, relying instead on monthly, quarterly or annual statements.