The new ten pound banknote from the Bank of Scotland has begun to circulate, printed on De La Rue’s Safeguard® polymer substrate.

Image courtesy of the Bank of Scotland

Like its predecessor, the new ten pound banknote features portraits of Scottish historical novelist, playwright and poet, Sir Walter Scott, as well as illustrations of the Bank of Scotland’s Head Office, The Mound, and Scotland’s Glenfinnan Viaduct.

The note has been designed and printed by De La Rue using its Safeguard® polymer substrate, as was the Bank of Scotland’s £5 banknote issued last October.

The new note includes a variety of modern security features, including a “window effect” which can be seen in the windows of The Mound building. Another key feature is the optically variable metallic ink used for the numeral “10” on the front of the banknote, which changes colour to give the effect of a “rolling bar” as the banknote is tilted.

The banknote also includes De La Rue’s Tactile Emboss feature, to aid those with visual impairments to identify the note’s denomination. The feature was collaboratively developed with the Royal National Institute of Blind People, and joins a number of other features in the design of the banknote aimed at the visually impaired including tiered sizing, bold numbers, raised print and different colour palettes.

The Bank of Scotland has confirmed that it will be auctioning some of their banknotes during October and November to raise money for the Mental Health UK charity. It will auction 94 of its new £10 banknotes containing rare serial numbers, as well as an un-cut sheet of polymer notes.

Speaking of the new note, De La Rue’s Global Account Management Director, Ruth Euling, said:

“We are proud to have partnered with the Bank of Scotland on the design and production of their new £10 polymer banknote and [are] delighted that through our strong relationship we could support them with their charity auction for World Mental Health Day.“

Read the press release from De La Rue.

Read the press release from Lloyds Banking Group (Bank of Scotland).